Believe in Me
by autorai
Summary: A few months after the battle against Pitch, Jack Frost is finally getting used to the life of being a guardian. But as quickly as it all started, Pitch Black is back, and it's possible he's using the weakened lonely minds of the other spirits around the world to his advantage. The war is on again, but this time, Jack and the guardians will have to prepare for a much harder fight,
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, author's note _ _'' My stories arent too famous but then again, they've all been relatively OC so far ^^' I dont mind it much, I write for the fun of it and for the enjoyment of others, not for the popularity. **

**Now one thing I'm going to say about this. If this story does get out very much, than you'll probably notice there IS an OC character in this. Now i'm going to say this. For everyone looking for a "Jack Frost falling in love with the OC because the writer is swoony over him" then ._. I apologize, this isnt for you. Sure, yours truely may have a teeny tiny crush on Jack Frost, but I'm sort of wanting to put my** **character in in my own way. ^^' So, as far as I know so far, this won't be too far into the romance category. I'm not even sure what category it'll fit into yet ^^''' I'll figure it out as I keep writing. I hope you enjoy it!**

Another note: I dont know as much about the characters, so people (like Jamie for example) might have different last names than maybe it actually says ^^' I'm trying my best here, please dont get mad.

Jamie Bennett sat on his knees on the window by his room, his propped up arm holding his quickly tiring head in place. His eyes were slightly drooped and there was no trace of a smile on his lips. He knew that Jack was a guardian now, he knew that he couldn't come to play much anymore. The small boy felt sort of bad. He hadn't even known Jack was the cause of all his fun and hadn't had a chance to actually play in the snow knowing he was in the presence of its creator. He missed seeing ice suddenly skid across the sidewalks like it was magic, missed the cold wind that would blow through the towns and rustle his curtains, the wind he had just found out weeks ago was carrying his best friend. He had always been the older brother to Sophie but until Jack, had never known what it was like to look up to someone so much. Now it was like every thought he had was based around the spirit, wondering where he was, what he was doing, or if he even _was _going to come back.  
He sighed, brushing his brown bangs from his eyes, hopping down from the stool he was positioned on. The sun was setting and his friends were leaving the streets. They called up that morning for him to come out and play but he really wasn't in the mood lately. He smiled and sat with Sophie on the porch while she played sometimes, but other than that he stayed indoors. There was no snow in sight yet, it was still September after all. There wasn't any reason for Jack to be here. So why did Jamie keep waiting? What was the point?  
As he was about to leave his room, go find something more entertaining and worthwhile to do, something caught his eye. He turned his head and the empty room store back at him. He could've sworn he felt some sort of presence nearby. "Jack..?" he asked hopefully but cautiously. He couldn't help but let a tiny smile go to suit his excited eyes. But there was no answer. The grin faded, the look losing the positivity but his eyes still curiously glazed over the room then widened as there was a crash from outside.  
It sounded like a car crash, the same squealing of wheels, horn screaming. He didn't hesitate before spinning on his heels and dashing out the door, down the stairs and into the yard.  
Jamie stopped at the porch, observing the damage. A man in a suit crawled out of the ruckage of a silver car, seeming okay but stunned from the sudden jolt of the car slamming into... Jamie looked over to see a tree smashed into the engine of the car. It looked like the man had driven straight into it. Sirens were ringing off in the distance already; it wouldnt be long now until the police arrived.  
Jamie was about to run to the man, see if he was alright, when something moved in the corner of his eye. He looked over, locking eyes with a deer.  
Why was it there? He asked himself as he willed his body not to move, his breathing slowing as to not scare the animal off. Sure, deer were common around the area but they never ran into open streets, at least not in this part of town. He was closer to the city than the forest, so how did a deer make it through the streets without being spotted at all? The animal obviously didn't see Jamie as much of a threat, cautious of him but lowering its head and trotting lazily to the grass on the side of the road, pulling at a few wildflowers. Jamie looked back and saw the man facing the opposite direction, shouting into the phone with one hand thrown into the air in irritation. The small boy then slowly walked to the deer, taking small steps. It looked at him from the corner of its eye but kept picking at the greenish brown grasses at its mouth. As he got closer, Jamie noticed something. Deer didn't glow. This one had some sort of silver glisten around it, it sparkled like if someone sprayed mist in the air around it. It was overall beautiful, a lighter color than most deer, greyish blue eyes like the snowy skies would be if Jack were around glancing up at Jamie, not with fear, but almost as if the larger animal was asking the boy to advance closer. So he did so, right up until he was within arms reach of its pale brown head. The deer raised its head, gaining height on him but not intemidatingly. It seemed to even smile in a way Jamie didn't understand. Deer couldn't smile, not many animals could as far as he knew. So why did it feel like this one was giving him a reassuring look. Then the deer lost that look, its head sticking up further in sudden caution. The sirens had turned on the street, Jamie looked over as police cars and an ambulance drove up on the scene. When he turned back, the deer was gone. He had been within just inches of having his palm on its head but now it was out of sight completely, all that was left was the faint sparkly silver light, fading into the chilling night air.

Jack Frost had always dispised responsibility, though if he HAD to do anything of the sort it would be this. Ever since Pitch was destroyed by his own fearlings, Jack and the rest of the guardians were reduced to their normal duties. It was a win/lose situation, Jack felt. He didn't like the concept of fighting, putting himself and others in danger, but he did like the fighting itself. It gave him a feeling of purpose he rarely had, even after becoming a guardian, it allowed him to direct all of the negative emotions crowded in the pit of his heart out into his attacks, it made him feel like he was more than just some lost spirit. He was glad that Pitch was gone and he had gained some self confidence knowing that he was most of the reason, but now Jack didn't feel like much of anything. The Man in the Moon chose him to help fight Pitch, right? Well what now? He slid his cane carelessly over the telephone wires of a quiet street, watching as crystaline ice crinkled over them at the touch. It made him smile, seeing how well controlled his powers were. They gave him comfort in some way, the feeling of snow being like the feeling of a hug to most people. It was inviting, calming. Made him feel safer even though there was no real reason to feel otherwise. Though he had the usual happiness in him, the innocence of life that blossomed out through snow days and snowball fights and the mischief he would still get into daily, there was something else there. Jack assured himself it wasn't fear, Pitch was gone and fear was nothing to be afraid of anymore, if that made much sense. He was on edge, anxious, nervous. He wouldn't go as far as to title it as scared, but he had a bad sense in the pit of his stomach that something was going to happen or was happening that wasn't right.  
He pushed it aside however, pushing aside also the fact that now that he was a guardian he was supposed to look into these things. But he had sworn to himself not to get so caught up in his new job that he started acting out of character. His center was fun, he found that out around a month ago when Pitch fell. So he would stay himself now that he knew himself.  
As he walked, he passed by a mother and father pushing their baby girl in a stroller, going for a walk in the cool night on the last day before the predicted snow front. Jack was planning on bringing the snow down, but he wasn't cruel or too strict on timing so he let the family keep walking in peace. The little girl in the stroller blinked, her big brown eyes looking directly at him as she pointed up with glee, giggling, "Boy on wire, boy on wire!" His mother and father looked up to where she was pointing but instead of seeing the figure, they saw the near starless skies of a usual night. "Maybe its time to get some sleep," the mother whispered softly to her child, the little girl protested but the voices faded off as the family walked on. Jack laughed softly, shaking his head. "Seems like kids can be smarter than adults sometimes, huh?" He said. It didnt feel like he was talking to himself but no one was really around to hear him, if they could hear him at all. Though a lot of children had suddenly believed in the winter spirit, Jack Frost, he was still much less known than say North or Bunny or Tooth or Sandy. He was new to the guardians after all. But he didnt mind. He was glad that finally, after three hundred years of being unseen, ignored, uncared about by anyone he went to, after three hundred years of having to convince even himself that he was there at all, the guardians came and their adventure started, ending in the small boy Jamie smiling up at him, touching his sleeve, hugging him. It was all he had ever really wanted.  
Jack looked up at the skies as the decending sun wiped away the colors of its shadow, dusk was just arriving without a cloud in sight. "Well.. time to get to work then," He said to himself, raising his staff in the air, rocking on his feet then running across the rooftops, dragging the wood behind him with a laugh. As he dashed, frost appeared on his trail, tracing his footsteps like a shiny white pen might, he jumped and swung his staff in the air; clouds immidiatally swarmed in from all sorts of directions, just barely covering the glowing moon as it began to snow. The air chilled and became crisper with the cold, but Jack's bare feet didn't hurt a bit. He retraced his steps, skidding on the newly form ice, skating along the rooftops like any normal person would do in a skating rink. He was happy, he thought. He hated responsibility, but when it came to seeing the smiles and hearing the shouts of the excited kids waking up to a snowday, he couldn't feel better.

**_ _'' Well, I think I did good for a start up. This is going to be a VERY long story, which should be obvious since I go sort of all out in character's thoughts .'' hope you enjoyed it ^^**


	2. Chapter 2

After another hour or two, Jack admired his work, standing on top of a snow-glazed lamp post looking out at the small town. Snow was falling lightly as promised, ice was sleek as ever over the sidewalks, and windows were fogged with moist chill. He smiled, like Tooth said around a month back, it was always nice to see the children when they woke up to the work of the guardians. He couldn't wait to visit Jamie's house in a month or two and see how he would react the the freshly fallen snow. Jack missed the kid, but every time he aimed to visit he would get swooped up with sudden meetings or missions or cold fronts needing to be delivered. He hated that he couldnt just drop the responsibility and go anyways like he used to be able to do, but jobs were jobs and his job was important. "Dont worry, Jamie, I'll be there as soon as you know it," he said reassuringly to the night sky, hoping that the message somehow reached the boy. After a few more seconds of staring up at the moon in small, peaceful thought, he turned on his balanced heel and jumped off the pole, using his staff to help him push off of buildings and objects as he shouted a "Whoop!" for the wind to pick him up. As he was being flown unsteadily back to his lake, he got a flicker in his mind, like a tiny light of realization went off. Then it was gone just as quickly as it started. He shrugged it off and landed softly on the water's surface, it frosting in a floral design at the gentlest touch of his feet. He looked over at the barely visable lights in the distance as he paced the frozen pond. Jamie's home was pretty nearby. Even if he wasn't bringing the cold in, he could still stop by right? He glanced to the moon again. It was far too late, probably around two in the morning by now. "I'll be there as soon as you know it," he repeated out loud as he stretched, hovering up to the lowest tree branch and leaning back against it, turquoise eyes closing as he lowered. A part of him was too excited to go to sleep, the same uneasy feeling running through him even still. But the other part of him overtook power, lulling his exausted form to sleep.

That night, something went terribly wrong. Jack started up, wide eyed, sweat sticking his hoodie to his arms and chest. It was still night, but something had to be wrong for him to have woken like this, he was having sweet enough dreams and there wasn't too much on his mind. He stood, raising the cane he was hugging in his sleep up diagonally in front of him in case he were to be attacked. The air was tense, there was a certain smell to it, something deadly familiar... but Jack couldn't put his finger on it. He looked around; nothing was there but the usual coldness and the shadows of the towering trees in the independant light of the full moon. "Hello?" He called out, jumping from his branch to the higher one on the tree at his side. Nothing. "Hello?" He repeated but still there was no answer. "Alri...agh!" Just as he was about to accept that nothing was there, a bright round burst of light appeared blindingly a few feet in front of him, his eyes immidiatally shut with reation to the light in the adjusted darkness. It took him a second to figure what it was, he was only reassured that he was right by the tall, bulky figure standing in the middle, coming closer as his eyes dialated to suit. "Jack! Good to see you again, old friend!" The familiar voice called out. Jack had been going to meetings with the other guardians every once in a while, just to check things out, but with Christmas just a few months away, he hadn't seen North much at all. His cheeks were as red as ever, the black fur cap positioned on his head to prepare for the cold that was naturally lurking around Jack. The boy smiled weakly, it forming into a real grin once the light was gone and he didnt have to squint to see at all. "Hey, North!" He said welcomingly, jumping down from the tree and landing with a small "plunk" into the snow at his feet. He hadn't grown taller and probably never would since guardians didn't really age physically and all, so Jack still had to look up uncomfortably to see him. He didn't have much of a chance for a good look though as he was yanked in for a full body bear hug. "Jack, Jack, Jack! Oh how I've missed you, dear friend, how have you been!?" Jack gave a tiny gag in reply, the best effort to both say he was fine and that he was being squeezed by arms that were probably each the same weight as him. The Santa Clause got the message, giving a tiny squeeze tighter before setting him down genly. It was sore, but Jack didn't show it in all favor to the jolly man standing before him. North had his usual excited smile, wonder filled eyes. It was nice to see after all of the usual "work stress, human stress" he went through as he brought the chill and ice to the streets of the cities he had last been through. That was probably why he liked the kids so much. More fun, less stress, more imagination, less negative.

"So why are you here?" Jack leaned on his staff as he asked, not meaning to sound rude but more out of curiosity, He knew for sure that Bunny hated the cold, Tooth wasn't as good at flying in it, and though Sandy probably could visit, Jack couldn't picture it happening. To be honest, Jack couldn't picture anyone really coming to see him except maybe Jamie. It was a concept he was still getting used to.  
In reply to Jack's question, North's face got grim, serious as Jack had seen him before. His own smile faded. What took the happiness out of the jolly fellow's eyes so quickly? "It's Pitch, Jack. We've sensed him very near by. I'm sure you did too, no?" Jack looked back and remembered almost immidiatally. The uneasiness of the past few days, the sudden jolt awake for no apparent reason. "But.." Jack said with slight doubt, looking down at his toes slightly dusted with snow, "Pitch was wiped out, wasn't he? Sure, no spirit can die like that, but I didn't think it would happen so.."  
"Fast?" North finished, then bowed his head as the younger spirit nodded. "I believe he would be gone for very long time too. I fear that he is getting the energy he needs from a different source."  
"Different source? He can do that?" Jack started to feel a deep sense of nervousness.  
"Of course," North replied, seeming almost a little surprised that Jack didn't know. "Pitch is the spirit of fear, the boogieman! So long as he has enough fear, he has all the power in the world. We saved the children from not believing but we cant stop fear. It is a natural emotion,"  
Jack nodded, sighing sadly. It seemed he wouldn't be seeing Jamie after all if Pitch was back and quickly recovering as it sounded. For some reason it was like he cared more for the kid than for Pitch. They took him out once didnt they? Why couldn't they again? "One more thing, Jack." The kid looked up, his blue eyes showing his worry, his disappointment. "We need you to find where he's getting this source of power from."  
"But you just said it was from fear, right?" Jack replied. He was confused. How was he supposed to find fear? Or, as a better question, how _wasn't _he? Fear was everywhere, from fear of being late to a meeting or fear of falling into a lake. He suddenly got a tiny jolt in the center of his throat from the thought, the memory. No, he wasn't going to let his own fearful memories get in the way. He cleared his throat and let the large man, eyes narrowed with caution on Jack's sudden surprised look, continue. After a few seconds of assumed calm, he did. "Yes, fear of course is obvious, but alas! Pitch is recovering too quickly to assume it's just fear he's getting power from. We feel it would be an item of some sort, or even another spirit in itself." Jack blinked in slight confusion again. There were more spirits? Now that he thought about it it was pretty obvious but... he never considered there could be any spirit out there other than him, Pitch, and the guardians. "So you want me to find and take whatever he's using?" Jack questioned, raising his eyebrows, in an "Okay, I can do that, easy," sort of look, a small reassured smirk on his pale face. North smiled at the confidence, reassured by Jack's attitude towards it. He had been a lot more willing to do work as of late, maybe he was growing into a good guardian after all. "Bring whatever it is to North Pole, yes, Jack?"  
"Got it." The spirit laughed. North loved the laugh, a lot of others did. It was a laugh of reassurance, a laugh of calm and happiness all mixed together. "Good!" His belly shook a little as his voice boomed; a few night birds resting in the trees crawked angrily as they soared out of their nests. "Then I shall be back to North Pole! Good luck to you, Jack Frost!" There was a loud, jolly laugh as the portal rebursted open. Jack knew better by now, sheiding his eyes from the sudden brightness with his forarm and smiling, waving slightly with the hand that wasnt guarding as North slowly vanished, along with the light, from sight.

Jack jumped back to his branch, laying back but not finding the lack of energy to close his eyes anymore. Maybe he could just go to Jamie and ask for help. It was an excuse after all, maybe Jamie would see something that might relate to Pitch. The winter spirit knew with almost all certainty that the kid probably wouldnt know much of anything about matters that even Jack barely knew about but.. it was an excuse to start an early snow and visit his favorite human before anything got out of hand. Before it got out of hand.. Jack replayed that in his mind, his smile fading just a bit. It was like every sense in him knew for sure that something was going to happen. He was being warned; the calm before the storm. He swore to visit Jamie that morning right at sunset. Just in case he didn't have a chance otherwise.


	3. Chapter 3

Pitch Black sat in his underground chambers with a glare in his intimidating yellow eyes and a tight grip on the chain lacing his chair. He was weak, his power was lowered so greatly, he could barely summon more than five fearlings at a time. That, he knew, would change within a short amount of time, but patience wasn't for him. He was used to having full power, if something needed to be done he could stand right at the moment and do it. Waiting irritated him and threatened everything around him at most times. Especially the small figure at the end of the chain he was grasping.

She sat at his feet with her head slightly bowed, shamed but not struggling to get loose. White fox ears were ducked on her head, the matching tail curled around her like a blanket to try and halfheartedly shield the ever growing spawn of nightmare dust hovering around the room. She was a child in the looks, messy blonde hair falling over her shoulders and bright green eyes, eyes so full of life and curiosity, excitement and innocence, they were piercing for Pitch to look at. Every once in a while she would cautiously peek over her shoulder and those eyes would meet his and before she knew it there would be a hard yank on the chain, the collar of the same nightmare dust cutting into her neck. It was hard as metal if Pitch willed it to be, and he did. There was no way for her to get loose. But she didn't seem to want to at this point. "Child." She didn't look over her shoulder, she had learned her lesson by this point. Pitch seemed pleased at the small feeling of fear he sniffed out of the girl. At least he had control over someone. "If I release you, will you run?" She looks up in surprise, almost turning her head to him but stopping herself halfway. Release her..? She had to debate for the answer. She would never lie to the nightmare king in fear of what he would do to her if he found out. So she thought. Running would get her back to her life of fun, the life of mischief and excitement and light she was used to. But it would also get her on the boogieman's bad side, which was too far intimidating to ignore. "No, sir," She replied, her voice slightly shaky but still holding a little bit of hope, as always. It had a playful tone to it, even through the fear. "Then go find a spirit named Jack Frost. Watch him, but don't let him see you. Tell me how he's doing."  
She blinked, turning to face the man on the throne with confusion, resulting in the quick painful jerk of the collar against her neck. She whimpered, lowering her glance so that she didn't see him face to face again. The floor was a more welcoming sight anyways; those gleaming orbs of yellow were like his own warning signs of the nightmares he controlled, the power he had once had. "Why?" She dared to ask, cowering and hugging the fluffy white fur of her tail as the only source of comfort in the room. Pitch noticed this and frowned with distaste, but decided to let it go. In any other situation he would just sever the child's tail clean off. They weren't meant to have parts of animals anyways. But she had been as obedient as she could achieve. He wouldn't punish good enough behavior in one of the few left that still feared him. "He is an important part to my plan. That's all you need to know," He replied carelessly, spinning the end of the chain between his fingers. She nodded and turned back so that she didn't risk peeking up to vision his face again. "Be back by morning," Pitch finished. Right as he said it the chain attatched to the collar dissolved back into the original blackish sand. She sat there for a minute. She was freed, just like that. It almost stirred something happy again in her heart but she remembered her oath. _I wont run_, her head repeated as she stood and dashed out the doors of the nightmare palace.


	4. Chapter 4

An hour later the girl was far from the hole in the ground that housed the nightmare king, dashing along the thin limbs of the trees overhanging a gravel pathway through a dense forest. The sunlight shone softly through to the ground, urging the multicolored wildflowers to peek awake, the buds of spring opening just enough to get their fill of the sun's radiance. She was conflicted inside. It had felt like she had been locked up in the darkness of that underground lair for forever, now she was back to where she belonged. She hadn't lost her speed or stealth, the thinner branches didnt so much as bend under her feet before she had lept to new ones. But now she was under the control of someone, she wasn't free. No matter how fast she ran, how good she hid, that tall lurking figure would always find her, just like it had before. The collar of black sand around her neck gave her a constant reminder of who's she was now. Out of all of the spirits in the world, why her..? There were pleanty of lost souls out there, whether saved by the Man in the Moon or pulled back into the real world by their own various reasons. There were tens, maybe even a hundred or more spirits out there, so why did he pick her..? She didn't know who she was, just her name and the minor ability she called a power to sooth herself. Why would Pitch Black, the ex-ruler of the dark ages, want to capture something as meager as an animal hybrid?

Her thought train was halted as she felt the air get colder. This must be where she was supposed to be. Snow littered the greying skies, piling and ganging on the flowers that were fighting to keep their strength. Snow and flowers.. two things so soft and weak.. but in numbers, snow would overcome. She felt the chill run through her paw-like feet, stopping at this and crouching to peek down through the few leaves below. A figure paced through the snow, only recognizeable from the blue hoodie contrasting with the white of his hair. Jack Frost, right below her. Many spirits were angry that he, something so lost and troublemaking, could become a guardian, but she never really cared to be one anyways. Sure, it would be nice to have a home, a family, but it didn't bother her so much that humans couldnt see her. She was rarely in public anyways, and if they could tell who she was, they would definatally not like what they saw. Jack Frost at least looked like a boy, maybe one that had bleached his hair, but along those lines. However normal girl children didn't have fox ears, they didnt have eyes so bright or clothes so uniquely nature-like. She wouldn't fit in with them.. who would want to? This was the only thing that drew her to jealousy of the boy below her, but still, he intregued her. Pretty much everything caught her eye, drew her in, but she was so curious. If the legends were true, he himself brought the army of snow, the chill in the air and the heavy winds that could and would literally blow her away at times. All in someone so small.

Jack kept walking along the rocky road, not even feeling a sting on his bare feet from the various pebbles and pointed stones he would step on. His staff was slung over his shoulder, his other hand resting in his pocket as he glanced around the forest with a smile. It was relaxing to see the snow slowly filling the gaps between the trees, the clouds covering the blaring sun. Something rustled above him but he shrugged it off, a bird or squirrel of some sort probably. After he had met up with North, he had came back here. His pond was just a mile or so away, so the area was familiar and he was usually pacing around somewhere if he wasn't off bringing winter to some country or state, or up in North's safehouse with the other guardians. They had been a lot closer since Pitch had been defeated, but now Pitch was coming back... his thoughts were reverted back to his last coversation with North. How _was _Pitch getting energy like that. As North said, it would be from a spirit or item but what spirit in their right minds would help a man so evil? _Maybe they're being forced into it. Fear IS the nightmare king, he could easily bribe and work with weak minds._ "Yeah but.." He responded vocally to the thought. It saddened him slightly, to think that a lost, lonely spirit would have to go to darkness to find any trace at all of love. He remembered how badly it felt to be walked through, ignored for all of those years.. if Pitch had targetted him before the Guardians came for him, he probably would've accepted. Anything to be noticed, loved, feel important in a way. Maybe whatever spirit or spirits that were now with and supporting Pitch just wanted a feeling of belonging. _Now you see why the Man in the Moon never answered you.. he never answers any of them. You kept faith. Others weren't so lucky._ Jack shook his head, wanting it to quiet down. A lump of guilt found its way around the upper part of his chest and throat. Why was he the one so lucky to be found again and chosen as a guardian? He got everything the other spirits would have wanted, a home, a family, to be seen and loved. It wasn't fair.  
Suddenly, he felt something move behind him, he turned and spun but there was nothing there. "Hello?" he called out. No response. "Hello!?" He yelled again, a little louder. Then he saw something out of the corner of his eye move, dashing away through the trees. Without a second thought, he chased after.  
With the wind on his side he was fast, usually faster than anything he wanted to keep up with, but this was a surprise. Whatever the figure in front of him was, it was quick enough to just barely stay in his line of view. Its movements were blurrs, he couldnt make out who or what it was. Maybe its Bunny keeping watch on me, Jack thought, it urging him on. _You dont want to race a rabbit,_ he remembered the easter bunny saying with a smirk. So its a challenge... Jack sneered back playfully in his head, eyes narrowing and his smirk reforming as he commanded the wind to push him forward even more. "Woah!" he shouted with a laugh as he barely dodged each tree in his way, zooming past at lightning speeds he never thought he could before. But that was before he realized.. he didnt know how to stop. His eyes widened as he saw the figure nearing, he reached down and grabbed onto its arm before the wind dropped him and he tumbled with the figure to the ground.


	5. Chapter 5

The trees above him spun in circles, the just setting sun glaring into his eyes like a flashlight, not helping the dizziness that he felt as he tried to get up. Luckly for the winter spirit, he had a tight grip on a small wrist, a small struggling wrist. In worry that he might lose whoever he had caught watching him, he forced himself to snap out of his daze. He wasn't angry or concerned, he simply chased the figure out of curiosity to who could or would be watching him doing something as small as a walk. It still interested him that humans could see him but... wait. He turned and looked at the struggling girl in his grasp. Was this even a human..? Her eyes were squeezed shut in her panic, her feet bare like his except they seemed more like paws, the padding under each toe and heels, the point and slight curve to the nails like claws. To answer his question, a big white ball of fur smacked him flat in the face as a last attempt to throw him off. Human's didnt have tails or paws or claws and animals didnt have human like forms or hair either. She couldn't be human and he didnt have a doubt once she opened her eyes. He almost let go in awe, they were so bright. His heart stirred slightly ((*has to interupt for this* :O ITS NOT OUT OF LOVE)) as he looked down into the light bright green eyes, his veins racing with the urge for adventure all of the sudden, a happiness that had no origin flowing through and around his heart. There had to be some sort of magic behind it, he wondered in the depths of his mind, but he was pretty sure what the feeling was. Curiosity. The spirit was always in wonder and excitement of the fun activities he would engage in, that just came with the thrill of being young and innocent, but it was like he was dying to find out who she was, where she came from, what she was, ANYTHING. Then suddenly his thoughts started speaking on their own again. _Maybe she's a spirit like you are._  
Thats it... he replied silently, blinking his gaze away as he grabbed the flailing and now crying child by the wrist, looking her dead in the eye with all of the confidence and security but also the peace and comfort he could manage. "I'm not going to hurt you." He said, bringing in a hint of a smile afterwards to prove his words true. She seemed to grow slightly more relaxed in his grip, but the fear still burned in her eyes. Fear... Jack looked down. If Pitch was on the rise, it wasnt just about helping the strange girl, but now it was to stop the fear before it would power the evil man even further. But then again, North told him to bring anyone or anything suspicious to the north pole and she definatally fit the description of "suspicious".. He had to make the choice, follow orders and take the risk or hope that she was nothing and let her go.  
Jack sighed after a second of thought, releasing the small fox girl and holding his hands up to show that he wasn't about to attack, his hands were empty. She peered up at him with caution, but the struggle, the scared feeling her eyes were screaming at him before was now reduced to something smaller. Again, curiosity. Is that how quickly it took North to find my center..? Jack wondered. Was it as obvious as this girl's?  
"Hey.. why were you watching me?" He dared to ask with a narrow of his eyes and a small mischivious "Jack Frost" smirk to boost it. But instead of replying, the girl's brilliant eyes widened, she stood and turned and was gone through the darkening shadows of the trees in the sunsets blaring light before he could react. "Hey wait!" He called after but with no effect. Jack sighed again, rubbing his head. He should probably report this to North, whoever she was, she wasnt normal. "Wind, take me to the pole!" He shouted up to the skies, waiting patiently for just a few seconds before being swooped back up into the breeze's embrace and pushed at high speed towards the jolly man's home.

**Admin Note: Sorry if these next few chapters seem a little less detailed. I havent been feeling too well lately and my brain's been a little cloudy ^^' So bare with me. Until then, can you guess the name of the girl? I cant yet, I dont even know. Its so difficult and im such a perfectionist, I cant even think of a name to suit her! . i'll find something ^^ But again, thank you for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

Pitch Black stalked the dark hallways of his underground lair, cursing to himself. He felt the sudden uproar of fear in that stupid spirit girl, she must've gotten caught. "Little rat.." He grumbled quietly, shoving the back of his angry hand right through a fearling horse that tried to comfort him. His anger was deserving. First he tried to woo Jack Frost himself, the new "shining star" of the guardians, and was rejected harshly. Now the second spirit he tried to keep under his control was so indilegent as to get herself caught and taken in! He despised spirits, they were like little overactive freaks, the spit outs of the Man in the Moon to take care of the world that he ruled over. How was it fair that each and every one of the brats had a job and yet Pitch's rein was boiled down to fear?! Born to be rejected, born to be hated and disliked, born to be shoved aside.. he hated it! And so he hated all of the little hopes and wonders of the world, wanting to crush them, to send the world back into the darkness he had so shortly reined over and show the cocky guardian maker the true power of fear, force him to regret ever putting Pitch into such a depressing, lonely life. Even his name showed the darkness he was dissolved in, tossed into since his creation! Pitch Black! The utter darkness of the world. As much as he hated the guardians, he felt a longing to be one of them. Every child looked so eagerly towards Christmas or Easter or that moment the next morning when they would rise from their beds and see the glint of a coin peeking out from under their pillows. Every child could rest easy, relax when they knew that the snows of winter would come within the next week or the soft happy dreams would give them a wonderland for a night as they lay their sleepy heads. No child looked forward to the thought of fear though.. they wanted him gone, away. Pitch longed for someone to care about him.. but it would never happen. So he resolved to using the gift the Man in the Moon assigned him, showering the happiness of the world with the meager bits of fear he could conjur up after that long and embarrassing battle. He would always be on the lower end if he accepted it.. he refused to be weak. He wanted power and was going to rip it right out of the smiles of those stupid guardians, pull it right from the minds of the weak, restless spirits that roamed the earth, looking for the purpose that MIM ((abbreviations for "man in moon")) refused to give them until they had lost all hope. Their minds were weak, desperate for a cause, and Pitch was ready to stoop low enough to use that to his advantage, starting with the little fox child that wandered on her own into his lair. MIM wouldnt stop him, no, he would stop it. He would stop the one who put him in this position with his own new soldiers. And as the small girl appeared in the doorway of Pitch's throne room, her head bowed, ears ducked in fear and shame, eyes half closed so that they wouldn't give him the disgrace of having to look into their disgusting and aggrivating light... Pitch Black smiled. "Welcome back, Ilia.." He cooed darkly, his eyes narrowing slightly to further darken his smirk as the small girl blinked up in surprise. He withstood the surprised look from those bright green orbs for the last time. Instead of forcing her to look away, he was going to extenguish that light and every other light around the globe. "We have so much to talk about.."

**So I decided to name her Ilia. o.o I thought this was a pretty good chapter despite how short it was and how much thinking was in it. Honestly, if you're reading this before the story and want to skip, its just Pitch's plan against the guardians and Ilia making her way back to his lair.**

**Ps: Its pronounced "ee-lee-ah" but call it whatever you like if you dont like it . Enjoy!**


	7. Chapter 7

September had come and gone, each day dragging out with boredom. And each day, Jamie would stare out the window in hopes to see the swish of a sheapard's cane or the flash of blue that indicated his friend was there to visit. "You promised.." He said quietly, turning from his window. The excitement he got every day was starting to die down as even his determined mind was losing hope. The dissappointment was turning to anger fast. This ALWAYS happened. He closed his eyes and laid his head down on the desk in the darker corner of the room, not bothering to turn on the lights since the sun hadn't quite yet set and lit up the room well enough for his caring. As the brown eyes locked shut, his mind swooped back to the past.

He sat on the floor of his living room on Christmas day, waiting eagerly to open the presents that Santa had brought. "There are so many this year!" He shouted with glee, looking down at his little sister. "Present present present!" She giggled back, squealing in happiness as she rolled to her back, kicking her feet up into the air. His mother smiled, setting down a plate of cookies on the counter just out of the growing boy's reach. "Now now, you two, hold on a bit longer," She said with a smile. As if on cue, there was muffled stomping down the carpeted staircase, a man in a pinstriped suit rushed down the stairs at a surprisingly fast pace. His eyes were brown like Jamie's but he had blonde hair streaked with the grey of stress and adulthood. "Can we open them now, Dad?" Jamie said, jumping up. Sophie tried to do the same and fell back down, starting to tear up. Their mother rushed forward, picking up the small girl and holding her close, rocking the todeller's cries away. The man crouched down to the boy's level, smiling but holding a sad look. "Sorry, Jamie, but I just got a call. I have to go out for work. Just wait a few more hours, I promise." The brown haired woman stopped her rocking, eyebrows furrowing together in confusion and unhappiness. "Albert, its Christmas of all things, why on earth would work call you in?" The man sighed, tugging his dark blue tie, the tie Jamie had bought him for the last Christmas, a little tighter. "That's what I need to find out. I'll be back before you know it." He gave the woman a kiss on the cheek, slightly masking her uneasiness but it still showed through green eyes. "Alright.." She muttered afterwards. Sophie looked up at her daddy, reaching her hand out and wrapping it around his finger. "Daddy, dont go," She whimpered, her bright eyes starting to glisten with the wetness of tears. The man glanced down, then back to his daughter with a weak smile. "I have to, Soph, but dont worry. I'll come back soon, I promise you." With that he pulled his finger from the girl's tight grasp, rustling her already messy hair a bit then turning back to Jamie. "You too, okay, son? I'll be back before you know it, then we can open presents like you've been waiting for." Jamie looked down but nodded with a small unsure smile. "Okay, Dad, we'll wait for you." The mother and children watched as the man rushed out the door, listening for the slam of the car door. Jamie watched from the window as his father drove off..

His eyes snapped back open and he pounded his fist on the desk. They ALWAYS promise! He remembered so well how long he had trusted for his father's return, he still was waiting a year later. Jack was probably the same for all he knew.. The boy sighed, rising from his chair and sulking to the bed, pulling himself under the blankets and tugging them over his head. "I hate promises.." he mumbled, squeezing his eyes back shut with tears of anger and frustration forming.

Jamie had rough dreams that night. Dreams that he found Jack years later, wondering with sorrowed hopes where the spirit had been all that time and getting a snarl of an answer, rejected, Jack shoving him aside and walking away. "I never cared about you, I just needed someone to believe in me and you were the most gullable," He spat in the boy's prolonged nightmare. Jamie awoke with the deep feeling of rejection carving its own pit into his heart. "Jack wouldn't say that.." He whispered.  
"Are you so sure?" A voice replied with a sneer.  
Jamie darted up, eyes wide as his eyes flew around the room for the source of the voice. It was a familiar voice but he hoped it wasn't who he thought it was.. no.. it wasnt possible. Jack defeated him, he was gone, broken. But the voice was real, and so was the figure standing at the left side of his bed, stepping out of a pool of shadow outcasted from the moonlight's gleam. Pitch Black stood at the side of the boy's bed, smiling down at him with patience and satisfaction, a look that looked nothing near well with those silvery gold eyes, the grey skin pale as chalk, and the rugged teeth that glinted in the moon's sight. "Jack killed you," Jamie said, trying to reassure himself more than trying to be bold, keeping his wits and bravery as he slowly inched himself off of the bed from the other side to get away. "Oh no, dear boy, you have that quite wrong," Pitch laughed back, amused at the shock of the child but not so pleased with the lack of fear in the room. "In fact, Jack _helped _me. All that time I spent powerless and alone gave me room to think. I'm much stronger now and with a decent plan." Jamie couldnt believe it. The nightmare king was standing in his room right now, his dark charm of a smile stabbing into his widening eyes. "I can't be so lenient this time, I want to win.. I want to be strong again, I want the guardians crushed under my feet," The dark man continued on, pacing the shadowed part of Jamie's darkened room. The boy inched away each time Pitch grew closer, his heart thudding faster in his chest. "But you knew that.. after all, aren't you angry at one of the guardians too?" Jamie looked down. Sure Pitch would know fear but.. how would he know that Jamie was angry? It couldnt have been obvious, the boy rarely spoke about his problems to anyone. He usually didnt have any up until now. "Jack Frost.. isnt he the source of both our disappointment? Anger? I understand how it feels to be upset about that, Jamie, you dont have to hide it from me.."  
"Shut up!" the boy shouted, his eyes sqeezing shut to try and block out the sight of the spirit of darkness hovering and slowly pushing him into the corner, advancing closer and closer. "Shut up? All I'm trying to do is help. Jack ruined me, just as he's hurting you." Jamie wanted quiet, he wanted to not hear these words, actually starting to fear that he might soon believe it. He was all but happy with Jack Frost, not mad enough to want pain on him, still loving him like an older brother, but angry all the same. Pitch Black smiled at the silence that followed his statement. "Keep in mind that I'm on your side.. Jack lied to you, Jamie, you can never trust anyone so much as you did or it'll happen yet another time. I thought I should bid you farewell.. hopefully those dreams you've been having convince you a little better than I can?" Jamie rose his head at this. So Pitch was the one who made him dream that.. his eyes narrowed, fists clenching at his sides, but before he could think of the words through the overemotion filling his head, the nightmare king laughed and sunk back into the puddle of shadows as if he was never there. Jamie stood in silence, staring at the place where the dark lord once was before pacing to the window and peeking out. The moon was full, glowing like a flashlight and turning the blackness of the night to a midnight blue. "He cant be right.. can he..?" He said quietly, hoping as much as he could that he could keep his belief up.. Jack would come back.. but at this point, Jamie wasnt so sure anymore. Not a cloud was in sight, the air was warm, there wasn't even a 10% chance of snow on the news.. The kid sighed, tucking his head back into his folded arms on the window ledge and closing his eyes again. Jack wasnt going to come.. Pitch was right. The room got slightly darker and the light of the moon seemed to dim down just slightly.


	8. Chapter 8

Jack's bare feet touched the ground right outside of North's home in the Arctic, the snow feeling soft like a pillow between his toes. The cold never affected him, if anything it made him feel better, stronger, more at peace. He was glad the jolly old man made his toys and wonders here instead of, say, the desert. Jack jumped through a window, swinging in and stepping down weightlessly without a sound. The room was empty, the fire flickered softly in the furnace but the usually worn leather cush chairs had no indent of where someone would've usually had sitten. He shrugged it off; Maybe North had to take care of business and trusted Jack on his own. Sure Jack Frost, the spirit of micheviousness himself enjoyed getting into trouble, but he didnt do it disrespectfully. Either way, he couldn't wait to find some sort of prank against Bunnymund. He chucked to himself, remembering the time when he pretended to fall out of the fast moving, rickety sleigh. The hare almost had a heart attack.  
The winter spirit paced the room before making his way back out the window and perching on the slippery roof. He liked heights. It made him feel like he was safe. Sure he could fall, but this way he could see everything, everything coming, everything going, the way everything worked.. even if all he was looking at was a plain snowfilled sky and an overdose of white powder covering any ground that mightve shown at some point, it still warmed a smile to his face. Slowly but surely, though, his mind wandered its way into less carefree thoughts. Something kept bringing it to Jamie. Was his own head trying to guilt him? Everytime he had aimed to visit his first and only human friend he had been swept away by some sort of event. He was getting nervous. What if Jamie was getting upset..? _No,_ Jack's subconcious replied subtly, _Jamie is determined as ever, which is why he was the last light left on the entire earth when Pitch tried to take over. He looks up to you, he wouldn't change that for anything._ Jack smiled a little again, both at the relief of what his head had assured him and at the fact that the voices in his mind were actually saying things he WANTED to hear for a change. Maybe Jack was gaining a little more self confidence if his mind automatically tried to do something other than reject his hopes and tear down any tower of peace he had made on his own. "Jack!" A voice shouted from inside the room. Jack blinked a few times before slipping down the roof like a slide, grabbing the edge of the roof panels just in time and swinging himself back into the room, landing gracefully as always and brushing off the snow that had piled into the wrinkles and folds of his hoodie. He glanced up to the tall Russian man pulling off his jacket and plopping his black fur cap onto the floor for the elves to take to its rightful place, wherever that was. "You came! Is there news about Pitch?" Jack opened his mouth to speak, but stayed quiet, remembering back to that girl and starting to feel a little unsure. Was she even worth mentioning? For all he knew, she could just be a spirit scared to be in the sight of others. He didnt know much about spirits other than himself, so it was possible. But still, North had told him to bring up anyone suspicious, and he wasnt going to exclude her, even if she didnt seem to have anything to do with the nightmare king. "I ran into a girl in the forest near Burgess," He started. North blinked at him with a blank look. "So what?" The man asked, not trying to sound rude but questioning why Jack would bring up something so normal. "Well.. what was weird was that she seemed to be watching me or spying on me or something. That, plus she had the ears and tail like a fox, her feet were like paws.. she didnt look completely human, sort of like Tooth, just with a different animal." If Tooth had heard him call her part animal she would've freaked. Even though the extatic guardian was a hummingbird hybrid, she didnt like to be adressed as anything more or less than the tooth fairy. But North suddenly got a look of dawn, like a lightbulb clicked off somewhere in his head, eyes flickering with a glow that indicated something forming in the intricate, creative brain he housed. "Fox girl? Blonde hair and big, big, bright, bright, bright green eyes?" As he said this, North raised his fingers to pull his eye sockets wider to indicate, though sort of strangely, eyes bigger than even his. Jack was a little surprised that North knew the girl's description. She must be important somehow if North remembers her, he thought. _Keep in mind that North is the santa clause. He delivers gifts to every child in the world. He probably just remembered her from there." _And there was the voice echoing again, going back to its old, negative state. Jack didnt see how something in him could be so downcast. He was in general happy.. sure things were getting more and more nerving with Pitch on the rise and the sudden meet up with the fox girl and the worry that Jamie might've thought he left him, but Jack couldnt really call himself upset. He was always calmer than most, his smile kept itself up and he couldnt remember the last time he ever faked truely being happy. "Come, Jack," North said, his voice rushed like it was when he got a sudden idea or thought, running without another word out to the hallway. Jack shook his thoughts away with a small movement of his head and jogged after.

The hallways were crowded with not only christmas trees and various toys, but creatures of all kinds. The yetis babbled in their own strange language, being large enough to fill the entire width of the hall as they bustled right through anything in their way unknowingly, going to their stations or to a break from work. Meanwhile, the elfs scampered around the floors in groups, giggling to themselves and finding stupid but entertaining ways for fun. Either Jack was tripping on a stray elf or having to duck under the flailing arms of a running yeti, but eventually he caught up to North at the room on the end of the hall, his office. The santa clause pushed the door open and Jack walked in, smiling at the rememberance. The place hadn't changed in looks, the firetruck still moved in and out on its own, the train station made of ice still sat, shattered in places but the glisten of the very faint sunlight in the arctic and the twinkle that ice just gave off on its own made it beautiful either way. North took the time that Jack was using to glance around in awe to go to his desk, crouching down and opening a drawer, mumbling a quiet, "Nope, not it," before slamming it shut and rushing open another. "Nope," he muttered again, then opened the third. "Ah hah!," the fat man shouted, pulling out a stack of christmas themed folders and slamming them down on the desk. A brown furred yeti, Jack knew him as Phil, brough over a chair of ice for Jack to sit in. The spirit plopped down, putting his foot up on the armrest and holding his staff both tightly and carelessly to his side, leaning over the papers with a slight cock of his head to the side. North was fingering through each one, eyes narrowed and a specticle on to magnify the bright blue orbs and help him read the names of each. He flipped so fast, Jack couldnt read the first few sylables of a name before it was replaced with the next. Eventually he gave up trying to read them, continuing his awestricken glance around the room until North's second "Ah hah!' brought him back to earth. Pushing all of the other files aside, North placed one smaller one gengerly in front of Jack, watching him patiently. The pale fingers reached forward and pulled the folder open... "Mother Nature... Ilia Grove," Jack read out loud. There was a small black and white picture paperclipped to the top right section of the folder, a picture of a girl that looked exactly like the one that Jack met. So her name was Ilia... wait. _Mother_ Nature..? She was a child! North seemed to notice Jack's confusion, leaning back in his chair with a stretch. "Not all spirits are as world thinks they are. Like most children might not think Tooth looks how she does," He gives a small shrug. "Mother Nature is simply title the humans have given to a spirit that controls and regulates environment. It never says anywhere that she was motherlike at all." Jack stared down at the picture, nodding in response to North. He wondered how children who didn't yet see him still would think of him. Did they think Jack Frost was older? Younger? Did they even call him Jack Frost at all? "Sort of like me," North continued, "They all think my name is Santa Clause. But tis not," He chuckled a little, shaking his head. "Silly humans. But! Back to point." North's look grew serious yet again and Jack looked up from his gaze over the document. "As you've probably figured, Ilia's center is curiosity, so her spying on you, Jack, isn't something too much worry about. But, what IS to worry about is how she ran when you confronted her. Ilia is shy but she doesnt easily get panicked like you described."  
"So Pitch could actually be involved then?" Jack asked, half hopeful that he was right so that they wouldnt have a dead end on what Pitch was planning. But if he was right, that would mean that Pitch was in fact using spirits to his disposal... which wasnt good. Spirits were strong in themselves, and if one or more found their way into the darkness that Pitch had fallen into, it might be much closer to impossible to stop him again. Jack remembered back to the chaos he had caused before the guardians had come to ask for his help, and he was just playing around. The thought of someone with powers granted from the Man in the Moon himself using those powers for fear's sake didnt seem good. And if Pitch wanted a spirit on his side, all he would have to do is promise their desperate and lonely selves a home and family, a cause, a reason of belonging and being, and they would sap it right up. Jack would know.. those three hundred years of loss and loneliness, wondering who he was, why he was there, or if the Man in the Moon had just forgotten him, having so many questions gone unanswered and not a single source of comfort.. it almost drove him crazy. He wouldve done anything probably to be seen and loved.  
North nodded, rubbing his temples with his head bowed slightly and his eyebrows knitted together. "Its possible, yes.." he said in a deep thought. "Agh! Too much brainwork!" The man shook his head and stood, stretching yet again. Christmas was up in a few months, it had apparentally taken its toll on the hard working guardian of wonder. He smiled, the smile finding its way to Jack's heart and bringing the corners of his own mouth up in return. "You've done well, Jack, for now, take a break. Go visit your friend, Jamie, you've been meaning to for long time." Jack nearly jumped for joy. He could finally see Jamie uninterupted! The winter spirit turned to the door but just as he gripped the brass handle that would lead him to the hallway again, the russian accent reached his ears again. "But Jack... be wary of Pitch. He's still out there, and wont be very happy with you since you defeated him that once." Jack nodded, looking down at his pale hand on the handle before pulling, waving behind him to the father-like figure, and running all the way to the main doors of the North Pole, diving under yetis and over elves at mach speed. With all the new information he had gotten, he could finally try to figure out what Pitch might be planning.. but first, he was going to visit his best friend back in Burgess. The town was very overdue for a snowstorm... Jack couldnt wait to see Jamie and all the other kid's faces when they awoke to the winter finally being brought. "I'm on my way," He beamed as the wind carried him across the Arctic Ocean towards the America's.


	9. Chapter 9

Pitch arrived back at his lair from his visit to the boy, Jamie, the shadows welcoming him by parting at his footsteps. Soon, everyone in the entire world would move from his path, bowing as the shadows always had. He would win, he was confident of it now, but a rage still boiled within him. A rage he would release on the only one he could reach who deserved it.  
To be honest, The nightmare king would've much rather had caught Jack Frost for his next scheme, but this would work just as well, if not better. "Maybe the little ice freak will realize the price of being so important.." He spit to the fearling that galloped with awe around his chest. He shoved open the door, slamming it for further affect. There was a small whimper from the darkest corner Pitch had in his already blackened lair. A whimper of fear. Pitch loved it.. maybe this would work well after all, both guilting Jack Frost and lowering his spirits, punishing the child for her mistake, and giving him more power from the fear that would come from the both of them. "Hello, Ilia, did you miss me?" He asked kindly. She looked up slowly from the huddled form she had curled herself in to to hide from the fearlings that Pitch allowed to constantly run at her, those aweful shining eyes specked with slight hope. _Is she THAT gullable?_ It was both amusing and horribly annoying how filled with hope she really was. What fueled it?! She had no friends, no family to come save her! She was just another broken stupid spirit that the man in the moon had had spit back to the earth to wander peacelessly, how was she so happy?! The anger was building in his eyes and her look of possible freedom quickly faded, the snow white fox ears ducking further to her head. "S... sir.." She whispered quietly, trying to appeal, beg for help. But he wasn't ready for her to beg, oh no, she had NOTHING to beg for for now. He was fuming, not just with the anger to her, but with his anger to everyone and everything. Each and every one of the faces of the guardians, that stupid child who refused to give up his belief, the Man in the Moon for EVERYTHING he did. Darkness surrounded him, encasing him in pure nightmares, his eyes glowed, not with hope like hers, but with a sting of wickedness beyond even Pitch Black. He had held it in so long..

Jack flew through the air as fast as he could, he was so close to Burgess now, he could finally see Jamie! It was a worry that had been eating away at him for some time now finally being relieved. The small boy was the only one he could truely have no stress fun with, the guardians were kind and all but were much more mature and up for hard work.. Jack was still a kid in his mind, despite his further growing age, and needed to be with others who had the same thought process and hopeful glow to them. He was almost there, soaring through the peaceful skies of Canada and allowing the heavy snowfall that begged to be dropped down to do their job. One worry down but.. his mind slowly found its way back to that girl like it always did when he stopped to sit and think, the rare times that he actually got the chance to fly to where he pleased or chill down. Ilia, North said her name was.. Mother Nature herself. He admitted, he had always pictured mother nature to be... well.. older. More mature. Not a small child of all things. He never would've guessed who she was if he saw her walking around.. it made him wonder how many spirits there were, how many happened to run into each other and finally make a friend, a friend who would understand. Jack was lucky with the guardians, he had four.  
Suddenly, he felt himself drop near twenty feet, decending down so unexpectedly towards the unwelcoming ground. _What..?_ The wind never dropped him like this, but sure enough, he was falling at full speed with no way to stop himself, right into the trees around where his old pond was. "Wind..!" He shouted as beggingly and nicely as he could but nothing came, not even a light breeze to make him aware of its presence. His bright blue eyes widened as the ground flew forward to meet him and he slammed and skidded across the foresty ground.  
Lucky for him the dirt was so soft, the snow acting as a cushion itself, and there being no trees in the path he skidded in. The impact was definatally a surprise, jerking him so suddenly, he was afraid something might have broke inside of him. He slowly sat up and while he felt horribly sore around his shoulder and chest where he had hit, nothing was too concerning or unbearable. The winter spirit sighed in relief. If he had gotten distracted or pulled from Jamie AGAIN, he would've seriously started to get irritated. But as he pulled himself to standing, he heard a faint cry.. something so faint he mistook it for the simple call of a night bird miles away. But then it happened again, sounding like an animal wounded. Jack immidatally pushed aside the pain he felt, still feeling it but only barely as he rushed as quickly as he could without the missing wind's help to the sound he had heard. It was so far away.. he thought. "The only reason I could hear it at all was because of the echo around here," he muttered quietly, nervously. Still he ran, panting heavily and having to clutch tightly across his chest to muffle the pain if just barely, but he wouldnt stop until he knew whatever it was was okay.

An hour later, Pitch started to feel his anger slowly but surely draining out of him. It was extremely rare for him to resort to physical violence, yet it felt so good everytime he heard a scream, a cry, a whine at all. He looked down, half in satisfaction, half in guilt at the pitiful figure curled up at his feet. He had all of the weapons in the world at his desposal, he could easily turn his nightmare sand into something hard as steel, and he did just that. The pale delecate skin on the child was now stained with blood, both drying and fresh from all of the small and bigger cuts running up her arms and legs. She was doubled over on the floor, holding tight to her stomach. He had made a club, beating the child like an over-powerful master might beat a dog, nonstop until he heard a snap, then a scream so loud and filled with pain it almost reached out to him. He was addicted almost, like his anger had taken his body from him and was doing this on its own. He didn't like watching pain, he liked fear, but she was more hurt than scared child was covered head to paw with fresh forming bruises and cuts, nothing near enough for her to bleed out,or so Pitch thought, but enough to make her already fair skin deadly white. The only color left on her was the redness of irritation over her cheeks and nose from the yelling and crying. Her hands had been enclosed into tight fists, a small reddish brown puddle of blood starting to form under her. She was still concious, he hadn't even spared her the chance to sleep the pain away. To a child.. Pitch was starting to realize what he had just done, the price of his anger had been paid. He hated spirits, but even he couldn't have the mentality to do this, not yet.. he still had humanlike instincts as much as he hated it, he still had sympathy.. he still was guilty. Now something so weak and helpless was possibly dying at his feet, crying even though she had already cried every tear she had in her, the pure white fur blotched and stained messily with blood, the softness in its appearance ruined by the rough dusty texture of the drying red liquid. Something so amazing and beautiful, a creation from the Moon itself.. and he had torn it apart in under an hour out of rage for something she hadn't even done. "What monster am I.." Pitch said quietly, unsure on if she could even hear anymore or not, not caring either way. He turned from the girl, regretting with the pit of his sorrowed heart. _Are you happy..?_ A voice suddenly reached his head. His eyes widened, he remembered that voice just barely; the man in the moon. The nightmare king tried to sneer but he didn't feel the confidence from before anymore, just the weakness in his stomach that came with his first actual physical breakdown. _You got what you wanted.. she'll probably be afraid for the rest of her immortal life._ The voice was strong but calm, angry but kind. Pitch hated it, Against his will, the anger that fueled him to attack was coming back. He wanted the voice out, he didnt want anything to do with the man in the moon. It put him here, it made him such a monster, it made him to be a failure and it all led to this, the stupid creator _mocking _him for the anger that would inevitably come from all of the sadness and pain Pitch felt?! He roared, rushing out of the room in the last attempt to keep his mind from the insanity trying to tear its way in, dashing out with the door left hanging wide open.. a few seconds after the nightmare king had left, a smaller figure ran in, blue eyes widening at the small unmoving girl in the corner. "Ilia.."


	10. Chapter 10

Jack's eyes only grew wider as the fox girl's condition worstened. "Ilia!" He yelled, running to her and skidding down on his knees to her side. Her breath was shaky, weak and unsteady, sounded with the small whimpers as the only sign to show she was even concious. There was so much blood, more than he had ever seen, all from one person..  
It was all wrong. Pitch was bad, he ruined children's minds, destroyed their hopes, and was all out evil but.. but he would never do this.. would he? Jack was so lost, so confused, the panic flashing in his wide crystal blue eyes as he felt the blood soaking through the knees of his pants. He needed to take her to medical care. Now. Jack quickly stood, scooping up the small girl. He had expected her to weigh a lot compared to his skinny, physically weak self, but to his surprise she was just as light as a feather, as light as him. _That doesn't matter, get going before Pitch comes back! _The winter spirit obeyed his mind, running with the girl out the open doors. He was scared he was hurting her worse but he had to go as fast as he could. Sure spirits were immortal, but that that was only protecting them from age. If they were killed physically, there was no way around it. They were just as weak as humans, they just couldn't die of more meager things, like getting older or heart desease or one of those things. It was a blessing and a curse, but right now, it didn't matter. She was dying and he needed to get to the Pole. "Hang in there, you'll be safe in no time.." he said in the calmest voice he could pull off through his worry and fear, so many emotions running through him, he was surprised he could even manage something so gentle. There was a small cough in reply, and when he looked down again, a few specks of the horrid red liquid was staining her mouth. Its worse than I thought.. Jack whispered in his mind, almost accidentally saying it out loud but stopping himself. He couldn't worry her, not after all of this. What was wrong with Pitch..?! Never had Jack seen ANYTHING like this done, even the King of Nightmares had a limit so why did he break it? Was he insane? Was he THAT angry? Suddenly it hit Jack like a dagger, forcing him to a stop without control... Pitch was angry at them. The guardians. He had to be, after all they had put him through, throwing him down in his moment of glory, he had to be.. and if he was so forceful with her like this it was like he was hitting her for... "for our mistakes.." he finished in an almost silent, shaky voice. This was all his fault. Ilia was innocent and now she was dying from Pitch's anger at _him. _The sudden flow of emotion, the anger, guilt, doubt, all fueled him to run faster. He couldn't stop now, if she died, it wouldn't just be at Pitch's hand but his also. He rushed up the hole in the ground from which the lair hid, falling into the still falling snow on the ground, just barley staying on his feet for the sake of the pained form in his arms. "Wind!" he shouted. But nothing happened. "No.." Jack whispered. The wind wouldnt respond to him, just like before, it was gone. "Wind please! We need to go to the North Pole, its an emergancy!" His shouts grew more and more desperate but either the wind wasn't listening or mocking him with it's silence, because not even the faintest of breezes rustled through the trees. The winter spirit starting to feel himself tearing up, his crying was so rare but if she died right there in his hands on his account, it was deserving.

Ilia had her eyes squeezed shut, fists pulled to her chest as she curled up in the arms of the boy from before. Her chest screamed every time she took a shaky loud breath in or out, she was slightly shaking uncontrollably now. She was scared, scared beyond belief. She was fully concious, listening to the more and more fearful cries out to the Jack Frost she had only heard of. The wind wouldnt work for him.. he couldn't save her. She was going to die. The thought sent hot tears running, warming her pale freezing cheeks for just seconds. Everything hurt.. did she deserve this..? Maybe she did.. She always caused trouble to the humans for fun, she had sent a deer running into the road near this place just a few days before.. but she had only done it because she was lonely, wanted something to do with the new life she had been put in, without even memories to guide her along the way. She knew there was the man in the moon there, watching her, but she had never really thought about it till now.. was he punishing her? "I..m.. sorry.." she said, her voice so weak it even scared her. Her eyes were closed but Ilia felt the surprised gaze of the snowboy glancing down at her, blinking up weakly to see his expression. It was fear filled.. just like her soul was. So much fear.. still she wasn't angry at Pitch Black, he had just taken the loneliness and hate for so long he couldn't stand it. And she happened to be in his way.. she didn't see him as evil, just lost, like maybe a lion attacking a human would be. Not evil, just not understanding. Jack's glance softened and he took a deep breath, looking around the forest. "Don't worry.. I know a place where you can go, just hang on, okay?" He gave a faint smile, still scared but playful. "Jack.. im scared," she whimpered out, the fox ears atop her head ducking slightly. How could he help her in the middle of nowhere..? Still.. he seemed to care more than anyone else ever had. She didnt understand.. but either way, it gave her a small bit of light back into her dimmed, broken eyes.

"Jack.. im scared." Jack's mind suddenly flickered back to a memory he had tried so hard to forget, his little sister on the ice. The words were the same, the only difference was the voice and the appearance of the girl. She was still in danger.. it fueled him, he smiled as strongly as he could. "I know, but you're going to be alright," he quoted from that day around three hundred years ago, remembering his words carefully and how they had helped. "Just look at me, I wont let you go," he continued, rephrasing just enough to let the situation fit, starting to make his way through the forest while her weary green eyes were focused on him. He continued quickly. "Once we get back, we can have snowball fights and you don't have to be lonely anymore. I know someone who can believe in you, too, a family you can stay with, it's all going to be fine." He saw the awestricken look in her eyes, but to his surprise, it wasnt when he promised her a believer. "A family you can stay with.." It strick him somehow in the heart. Is that how all spirits were? He remembered himself wanting a family, a group who would always care and notice no matter what he did or said.. but looking at this girl was like looking at a memory, both lifting and saddening him. His bare feet touched the streets of Burgess, and right in front of him in the darkening sunset was Jamie Bennett, sitting on his front porch alone with a sad look. "Jamie!" He yelled out. The boy glanced up, squinting through the dark then getting a look of complete shock. His mouth opened, then closed. Was he that surprised..? Jack still smiled a little inside, glad that Jamie wasn't angry to see him. Still the boy didn't reply, speechless. Jack rushed forward, earning a confused glance from the brunette haired kid towards Ilia. _He can't see her, remember? He doesn't believe in her._ Right.. Jack thought, running to the boy's side. "Jamie, I know this is crazy but I have a spirit with me right now and she needs medical help, now! Her name is Ilia, mother nature, the one who works with animals and plants and things?" He explained rapidly, hoping his words even made sense through the urgancy and panic in his voice. "The one that sent that deer into the street..?" Jack felt Ilia tense a little, and while he didn't know what had happened, he assumed it had something to do with the once michevious child he held. "Yeah, her!"

Jamie focused hard on the empty space in Jack's hands.. and suddenly, a figure came to his eyes like it had been there all along. He didn't take note of the girls features though, just the blood, the marks, the bruises and cuts.. Jack was right, whatever the spirit had done, she was dying. Jamie stayed brave though he was scared, running up the stairs. "Follow me, my mom's a nurse, I can borrow some supplies!" Jack rushed after, whispering down at the quickly slowling breaths of nature herself, "It's all going to be alright.. just believe in me."

**Well that was a sucky chapter _ _'' I was trying to make it have a lot of emotion and feeling to it but i'm sort of rushed, my mom's been waiting for me to come to the living room for the past thirty minutes i've been typing o_o'' hopefully it was bearable though and i'll try to update again to make up for it.**


	11. Chapter 11

Jack ran after Jamie up the stairs, quickly laying the small spirit on the bed. He would find a way to clean the sheets later, for now, there wasn't time or enough room for another thought to go through the winter spirit's head to put something over the bed to keep the blood off. Jamie rushed back into the room within seconds, carrying a large white briefcase like box close to his chest. "Here!" He panted, brushing the pencils and drawings off of his desk carelessly and setting the box down, opening it up. Inside were tools that Jack had never seen before, some sort of scalpel like thing, a pulse-checker thing.. Jack wasn't too familiar with doctor like words, they had changed so much over the hundreds of years since he had actually had them used on him, but either way he could still figure out the purpose of most of the hygienic metal tools laid neatly in their places in the organized box. He looked to Ilia to try and figure out what was bleeding the most but all he saw were small but deep cuts all over, no specific spot. But Jamie saw otherwise, running to the bedside and looking down quickly until he found a gash right across the fox girl's chest. "Jack, pass me the bandages! I've seen mom work sometimes, I think I can do it!" Jack usually would've tried to help out more but he honestly had no idea what to do now, glad beyond anything that Jamie had some sort of experience that he couldn't make up. The white haired teen nodded, turning and taking a second to find the white wrappings camouflaging into the rest of the white and silver mix. He turned and tossed with expert aim, perfected from the years of snowball throwing, and Jamie caught it without hesitation. Jack was proud of the boy, watching how intimately he worked, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he, though slowly, found a way to wrap up the deep wound, running then to the box himself as if he had forgotten there was anyone else in the room. Jack would've chuckled if the situation weren't so serious. Jamie looked so grown up, barking orders and doing a job so well, it was like he had been taught professionally. Jack was impressed, but still the worry and anxiety fluttered through his eyes like birds that had gotten shaken out of a tree, flying away into the sky. She wasn't doing too good.. the room was silent excluding the thumping of Jamie's hurried footsteps across the floor and the uneven breathing that came from the unmoving figure, the only indication that she might even still be alive. Her eyes were closed tightly in pain, squeezed shut to try and block out the sting of the bandages being pressed against the open cuts. Jack still felt so guilty.. but that had to be pushed aside at least for now. All he could do was stay out of Jamie's way and watch over the girl. "It'll be alright.." he promised her, and he wouldn't let her down.  
Suddenly, around ten minutes later, it was like time stopped. The little noise in the room fell silent, Jamie froze and the only thing keeping them working, the only source of rhythm at all fell quiet. _She's stopped breathing. _Jack jumped off the table he had seated himself on, running to the girl's side with wide eyes. This couldn't be happening.. but sure enough, the eyes that were squeezed shut had relaxed, the tightly clenched fists had released themselves. Jamie held the bandage he was working on tight in his hands, it sticking to itself and crumbling up. "N.. no.." he whispered, dropping the material in his hands and looking up at Jack for reassurance, but just seeing the same surprised, scared look he wielded himself. Jack opened his mouth to say something... and the window burst open.

The two boys spun around, looking up to see what had snapped them out of their sorrowed daze, just seeing a shadowed figure being encased by the darkness, hidden from the moonlight's glow. Jack felt a fury he had never had before start to form up in him. Had Pitch come to watch her die..?! To see his good work?! Jack had never wanted to hurt anyone, other than the time when Pitch had ran that arrow through Sandy, but right now the urge was building so heavily in him it was hard to control. He grabbed his staff from his side, tightening his grip on it and glaring up at the shadow. "Jack wait.." Jamie said quietly, head tilted slightly in confusion. "Jami..." The winter spirit started angrily but slowly forgot his words as he realized what the boy was trying to say. That wasn't Pitch.. The figure slowly stepped out of his shadow of glory, stepping down from the windowsill like it was a staircase. His stance was tall but his look was sad. He had eyes a faded red like blood. Straight black hair fell over his shoulders, down to his chest in length and a torn red cape hung from around his neck. He had an aura of mysteriousness to him.. but also sadness. But it wasn't enough for Jack to drop his guard. The man looked between the two, then at Ilia from the corner of his eye, so peacefully "sleeping" despite the number of still bleeding wounds and horrible damage she had over her. Jack followed his gaze, the anger fading slightly and being replaced with the horrible guilting sadness from before. He wanted to fall, to cry, but he couldn't in front of the one who looked up to him to be strong. He sucked up the last breath he could find, forcing it to be more like a sigh than a gasp of tears as he turned to face the man again. "Who are you..?"  
"Grey Loss.. you would know me better as Death, or The Grim as some humans put it.."  
Jack Frost stared in surprise between both the tall man and the child on the bed, not caring of his name, not caring of anything but the words that kept repeating nonstop like an echo in his head... he had come for Ilia.. she was gone.

**If you want a mental picture on how I thought Grey Loss/Death looks like, look up Vincent Valentine from final fantasy. ^^' He just sort of fit the mental picture.. sorry for the shortish chapter, really tired. **


	12. Chapter 12

"You can relax."  
The voice of Death, strong but yet weakened with a strange sense of sadness both at the same time, echoed through the room. A lot of him was like that, his walk, the look in his eyes. Like he was a powerful warrior, standing tall and confident.. but yet it seemed like he would fall apart at any moment, just holding back the sadness that so clearly flowed from him. Neither of the boys relaxed though, on the contrary, Jack just raised his staff a little higher in front of the girl. She's just sleeping.. he tried to reassure himself. She just fell asleep while Jamie was working on helping her heal. Within a few hours she'll wake up and those bright green eyes will flicker again and it'll all be alright... but he knew he was wrong. There was no breath coming from her pale and further paling face, not a single movement or twitch in the delicately small hand. The insecurity and fear apparently shone out through Jack, because Death took a single step forward and he threw his staff out. A warning: Back away or I'll freeze you. The man didn't back up though. He simply stared into Jack's eyes with his own, strong and demanding as blood but soft and asking as a rose. "I mean no harm.. but you have to listen to what I have to say, Guardian." He seemed to get a little downcast, even spit out the word guardian like it hurt his throat to say. _He's jealous?_ No.. it didn't seem like it. Maybe angry, upset, pained. But there was no envy in his tone. _Great job, icicle you got Death on your bad list._ But Jack wasn't in the mood to reply to the sarcastic comment that seemingly came from nowhere. "Talk first, then I'll let you come closer," he said as strongly as he could; Jamie still stood next to him, cheeks wet with tears and eyes wide with confusion. Jack suddenly thought.. how could Jamie even see Death? He was a spirit wasn't he? Wouldn't Jamie have to believe in him? It made sense. When people or pets died, it was usually like the close friends and family couldn't comprehend it. Like they couldn't stop forgetting that the person was already gone until the realization struck. You could only believe in death once you had seen it already.. Jack looked down at the boy, his glance going unnoticed as he pulled Jamie closer to his side and looked back to Grey Loss. The grim reaper standing in his best friend's bedroom. The man sighed, brushing his pitch black bangs from his eyes, making direct contact with Jack, which was both uplifting and nerve wracking. "The king of nightmares came to me, and I am on his side. I don't take his orders. I still work alone. But if a war breaks out like it seems, I am on the side of shadows, as I belong." He seemed pained to say that, "_as I belong."_ Jack was a little confused but pushed that aside for now, focusing more on the slight dart in his chest as he realized Pitch now had the upper hand. Death? On the enemies team? That wasn't good. Not at all. "But I do what I need to do to make sure my side will win. Pitch Black has asked that I spare the child," he motioned to Ilia, "Since it is in my power. He asked of me to not tell you why. But.." The man's gaze dropped to the dusty floorboards. "He HAS told me to tell you to get ready, Jack Frost. He's stronger." Death then walked forward while Jack and Jamie processed the information, brushing past the winter spirit like he wasn't even there and kneeling at the bedside on one knee, looking down at Ilia. "You were always a little troublemaker.." He said quietly, for the first time his voice seeming to be lined with caring. "But I'm glad that I didn't have to pull you out just yet." The man laid his pale hand on her forehead and within seconds her eyes fluttered open, the slightly bloodstained mouth opening in a gasp for breath. Jack spun around running to her with Jamie at his heels. Death simply stood back, nodded down at the surprised and seemingly delusional girl, then turned back to the window. Jamie looked up just in time to see him about to leave. "Wait!" he shouted, but the tall cloaked figure simply shook his head. "I only come where I have a purpose. And my purpose in this room is done. I regret having to see you again, Jamie Bennett.. hopefully, this will be our last meeting." He turned back towards the window, stepping with surprising grace up onto the window ledge. "But I will definatally see you again, Jack Frost.. so saying goodbye would only be temporal." Without another word, the man jumped right from the window, walking into the darkness like walking through an invisible doorway, then vanishing. Jack blinked, the rush of it all had him confused, but still he looked back to Ilia, her bright green eyes ignited again with life and innocence as before. "Welcome back, kiddo," he said with a smile, patting her shoulder, the only place really without too much of a wound. Though Death had brought her back, he had done only that and enough to make sure she didn't fall back to dying again. The cuts and bruises were still there, but either she didn't notice or didn't care. _Did she know she just died..?_ Jack wasn't going to ask. He hugged the girl lightly, her hurried breaths more in confusion and panic then actual pain or fear. Jamie did the same.. and she slowly smiled. "I'm glad for Pitch.." she said quietly. This startled the both of them, their heads raising at the same time, first to give each other the glance of unknowing. What's she talking about..? Jamie mouthed. The winter spirit shrugged, then looked down at her for an answer. She giggled softly at their response as if she knew it would happen, finding amusement in the strange faces they were making. "Cause of him.. I have people to hug," she said quietly. Jack started to realize how little she was. _She's just a child.. yet its like she's more grateful and wise than any of us. _He realized she must've lived for a lot longer than her looks implied, but as he hugged her, felt her shallow breathing, it didn't seem anything like it. He smiled, Jamie did too, and they sat there for a while.. and for maybe a second, Jack was sort of glad that Pitch had brought them together.. even through the worst.


	13. Chapter 13

Jack felt at peace, Ilia did too and so did Jamie. Jack was relieved over anything that Ilia was alive, even if he hadn't known the girl longer than a few hours or so, it had always been a part of him to protect everyone around him. Ilia had her first actual contact with both a human. She had met another spirit before, her work with animals and plants gave her the chance to see the mysterious man plenty of times in rabid attacks or huntings. It had always driven her mad that humans could kill animals for violence, yet the animals were shot and killed for sport of all things and no human was punished badly at all for it. Death was the only one she had known to understand that, to really understand anything. She called him a friend, though when they did meet, they very rarely talked. Even if they did, it would always end in the cloaked figure saying something cryptic, beyond her mind, then walking off. She had never touched a human, never could, rarely tried, and now she had one hugging her like she meant something. It was the most amazing feeling, to finally be loved by an actual human, the creatures she thought didn't have any love left in them at all. She wasn't normal, didn't humans avoid things like her? But here was one... it made her feel better than she probably had. Then Jack Frost.. she finally realized why Pitch might've wanted to have her watch him. He was kind, though his embrace was cold as ice, his heart was the complete opposite. And here she was.. finally having something she could call friends, people who cared for her.  
After a few minutes, Jamie sat up, Jack pulling himself up when the boy did and they both looked down at her with a smile. "I have to go now, my mom's gonna be home any second," Jamie started, but, receiving Ilia's look of nervousness, smiled softly. "But don't worry, you're always welcome back." Jack stood, picking Ilia's small, light form gently off of the bed. "Time to go, kiddo, lets see if the wind listens now so we can get to North." Her eyes showed signs of panic but she took a deep inhale and nodded slowly. Jack was about to turn to the window when something caught his eye. Jamie's bedsheets. They were soaked with blood, the white barely visible in the area around where the form of nature had laid, the red staining giving off a slight iron-like odor from the time they had been there. Jamie noticed Jack's glance, and before the winter spirit could speak he shook his head. "It's alright, I'll clean them off before anyone sees," he explained quickly. The snow-haired teen wanted to object, he could easily soak the blankets with snow to wash them out, but Ilia was hurt and it was already dark out. He didn't want any fearlings flying at them while they were traveling that he couldn't see, at least if the wind even worked for him. The thought sort of frustrated him. Why did it stop listening? He was nice if anything, or at least he tried to be, never barking orders but saying as askingly as he could. He sighed, rubbing his eyes with the forearm that wasn't holding the child onto his back. "Then we're of..."  
"Jack?" Blinking at the interruption, the winter spirit turned back to Jamie. The boy's eyes were focused on the ground, troubled. "Sorry for being angry at you.. for not coming..? I should've known that you we're trying to avoid me.." Jack's eyes flickered in the faint light of the moon. He has assumed that Jamie wasn't mad when he saw the boy. He didn't let himself take it too far to heart though, at least he had arrived on time before Jamie got too upset. "Sorry for worrying you," He smiled, the usual mischievousness playfulness in his voice. "Oh.. and expect me back within a week. Up for a snow day?" He laughed at the kid's overjoyed expression, then waved and rushed down the stairs, running off the grasses of Jamie's front yard just as the car his mother drove pulled into the driveway.

Pitch sat in his throne once again, his face in his hands as the regret and self hatred still bore strong. How could he have let his anger wash over him like that? He hadn't even known it was possible. _Don't let it bother you, Master.. the girl is safe now, no damage has been done,"_ A fearling whispered into his head, sounding like the simple cracked neighing of the nightmare horse to anyone else but its ruler. "I know.." the dark man muttered, rising and pacing across the room back to the doors. He was still angry and he would still do as he planned.. he just needed to stay in control. That was all. Pitch smiled at the thought of his next plan, evil but not deadly like before. "I'll just push them right up to the line, now that Death is on my side, I can stop that from happening again," He sighed in relief. He had honestly enjoyed beating the spirit of nature, watching the disgustingly happy light in those too carefree eyes burn out, being replaced with the fear he wielded. Each scream gave him power, each tear she shed gave him strength and with her fear alone, he had worked up enough power to get himself going again. But it wasn't enough.. he was still enraged, almost ecstatic with the overdose of anger flooding him, it was hilarious how much he wanted to destroy the man in the moon, the guardians, all of them! And it was even funnier to him how fast they would fall once his plan set into action. Suddenly, the dark sand parted from the walls as a figure robed in red and black stepped in, his face blank but heavily weighted with sorrow and strength combined. "I have told them as you asked," Death said in his low voice, looking up at Pitch with red eyes... red like the blood that would be shed so soon. "Good.. and the girl?"  
"Alive, still injured. She's being taken to the Pole by the spirit of winter for healing." Pitch snorted. Oh how Jack would try.. but Death wasn't the only spirit in his league now. Though he was out at the moment, Pitch had pulled Jack's greatest ally into his own team. The wind was on his side now, not that cursed boy of fun's. With both Death and Jack's only option of reaching the guardians, the nightmare king was practically in control of the boy, a thought that turned his meager humor into a sadistic laugh. Death glanced up in slight confusion, but didn't ask what Pitch had found so funny. "You've done well, Grey!" The sharp teeth and grey lips burst out. "You've made a good choice, joining my side! We'll be believed in and the one who cursed us with such horrible eternal lives will be shattered! But first.." The darkness of the nightmare sand surrounded first Pitch's feet, then his ankles, spiraling up him like a tornado. "Let's go pay our young friends a visit.. shall we?"


	14. Chapter 14

Death leaned against the wall, his red eyes focused with pure alertness as Pitch faded out of his view.  
A fearling flew up to him and he brushed it aside carelessly; the powers of nightmares didn't do much to him. It was enough of a nightmare living to know that you yourself would have to take anyone and everyone forcefully out of their happy worlds. What was there to give him nightmares about? All that ever entered his head when the nightmare sand reached his mind were thoughts that were already there. The black boots he wore made clicks on the tile that echoed throughout the entire throne room as Grey Loss paced. He had never truly been angry at the Man in the Moon.. death was a job that had to be done. He was important.. even if he didn't and never would enjoy it. Still, if anything he was lonely, the depths of his heart filled with the blood of the men, women, children, animals, or any living thing he had to tear from their families and loved ones. They were happy where they went, well, most of them. But the worst part was watching the reactions after they had been gone. "I hate death! I hate it when people die!" He remembered a seven year old screaming with tears in her bloodshot eyes as she stood by her mother's grave. All the crying.. it was his fault. If he was a less responsible man, he would've chose to not deliver the lives to the awaiting heaven or hell. But that would cause chaos.. and chaos was someone that he did NOT want involved with the lives of humans. Death was believed in all right, probably just as believed in as the guardians themselves, but he was hated worst than even Pitch Black for his job. When a human killed another, the blame was on him. When a deer ran in front of a car and died on the road, the blame was on him. Ilia didn't get blamed for bear attacks, Chaos wasn't blamed for lightning strikes, Jack Frost wasn't blamed for blizzards.. so why was he put down so badly for something he couldn't control? He was feared more than the master of fear himself.. just for being what he was made to be. "You think too much.." he mumbled gruffly to himself, sliding down the wall to sit with one knee up and the other leg lying out against it. The fearlings spread from him, a few braver ones trying to soak his mind with their nightmares but retreating when they found it came to no effect. He longed to be like Ilia or Jack or Sandy, to know that he did good for the world and have people cheer when he came, people other than the wicked. He wondered why he was chosen. Of all the fallen humans of the world, why did the Man in the Moon pull him back from his eternal sleep and shove him into an everlasting world of hatred and darkness and tears..? Sure, Jack Frost treated him right and probably would until he realized that Death had been the one that was present when he fell into the ice, who had taken his sister from the world, his mother, his family when their times all came. He wished he could die someday as well. Even the immortal could look forward to a day of rest when they were wounded too badly or finally ended it themselves, even if it weren't as comfortable of a way to die as old age. But Death couldn't die, never would. He was truly immortal. When he bled out, he just kept bleeding, no matter how much until the wound healed or was covered. He had tried to kill himself off out of selfishness once and the long scythe he wielded simply went right through his neck. He was cursed, cursed to watch until billion years beyond when every human and animal and soul would finally vanish and his work would be done.. and even then, the fires of the burning earth wouldn't reach past his skin._ Just kill innocents and the Man in the Moon will find you unsuitable for the job and let you die,_ Chaos had whispered to him hundreds of years ago, the sadistic whisper of the male into his unlistening ear. His heart was too pure for that.. so no matter what happened, he would be there.. alone, unwanted. The guardians couldn't take him in, they wouldn't. He gave no joy to children in the slightest. There was no family for him, anyone he finally found who'd want to be friends, like Ilia, would eventually pass on and leave the already deep trench in his heart a little deeper. This is the life that I've been given.. he said with a heavy sigh in his mind. Death couldn't die.. and he wouldn't enjoy the life he had as long as the humans and creatures would pass on and tears would be shed at his hand. So Grey Loss went on, holding onto the only sense of minor comfort that what he did was helping everyone.. even if they hated him for it.


	15. Chapter 15

Jack smiled over his shoulder at the small figure he held onto his back. He was in a hurry to help her out of her pain, but now that she wasn't in risk of dying, he was calm enough to be his cheerful self again. "Don't fall asleep on me," he laughed as he felt her head drooping to lay on his shoulder, a small sleepy grunt was all he got back. The thought ran through his head, would the wind even work now? It hadn't the last two times and he was begging. Still, it was worth a try. "Wind! Are you there?" There was no reply, not even a subtle breeze to give him a faint hope that his friend was around. Ilia seemed to sense his frustration, her eyes, which had been drifting shut steadily over the small period of time, blinked back open and she raised her head to the sky, one of the fox ears twitching slightly. Her ears, tail, hair, skin... well, everything, was still stained with dried blood, but it seemed to not affect her at least for now; it was like she didn't even notice all of the deep wounds. _She's probably too exhausted from the blood loss to feel them as more than minor scratches, _Jack's conscious suggested. Maybe that was it. Jack didn't go too in depth with thinking over it, they had a bigger problem to solve. "What's up?" He asked with a small narrow in his eyes and a smirk in the corner of his mouth as she slowly smiled. "A plan." Her head turned towards him and the intensity of her eyes nearly blew him away yet again. When he had found her in Pitch's Lair, they were dulled, like a light bulb that had lost its power. But now they were gleaming like the sun was shining through light green glass. It wasn't just that though.. they still gave him that feeling. He started to wonder deeper than he normally would've about what was behind those eyes, in the thoughts of someone so innocent. _She IS the guardian of curiosity, Jack. Just like your special snowballs can make kids suddenly become overjoyed._ Now it made sense. I swear, I'd be an idiot without your help, Jack thought back to wherever the voice came from. To be honest, when he thought really deep about it, he couldn't even tell what the voice was, man, woman, young, old. It didn't have a tone to it, just a voice. Maybe that's normal, he shrugged mentally and zoned back to reality. Ilia closed her eyes and opened her lips just slightly, looking up to the sky before letting out a long, loud whistle. It wasn't ear piercing like the scream-like noises humans made, it was beautiful, sparking even more wondering underneath his messy white hair. Lost of breath, her lungs must've been damaged in some way by the difficulty she had breathing before Death's arrival, Ilia laid her head back down, her eyes closing as she let out small pants. What was the point of that..? Jack wondered. _Wait for it... _Suddenly, a small black dot circled them in the sky, a bird higher than he ever thought birds could go. As it circled, it spiraled down, getting larger and larger.. then it seemed weird. It was nowhere near the ground and already seemed huge.. what kind of bird was this?! Finally Jack realized. It was DEFINITELY not a bird. This thing was a beast, its beak the length of his staff and each feather being around a foot long. When it touched down gently in front of them, its huge talons made cracks in the sidewalk. If the thing happened spread its wings right now, it would wipe out five houses in its path. "What in the.." Jack started but was interrupted by a small, completely unworried voice from his shoulder. It was strung with a giggle at his amazement. "That's Hiwa. He's my friend." Jack had to do a self reminder that this WAS the commander of animals on his back and not a kid who had been watching way too many movies. He had to do a reality check for himself as he looked up at the bird, twelve feet tall, looking down at him with big orangish-yellow eyes like the brightest sunrise. She said it so calmly too, 'He's my friend.' It was like she didn't think anything different of the monstrous bird at all. It was both calming and strange.. then again, Jack realized even he wasn't as innocent as her. For any young child a giant bird could just be another friend, not a thought in their mind that it would be a threat until it shows itself as one. Jack sort of wished he hadn't gotten so nervous for no reason. It showed he had just a little bit of maturity in him, and he didn't like it.  
Ilia turned to face him, those bright eyes giving a slightly confused look. "What are you waiting for, Snowy, Hiwa says he'll fly you to the pole as long as you make sure it doesn't snow along the way." Jack nodded and, though he tried to hide it, cautiously walked towards the bird.. then stopped. Wait.. did she just say? He felt stupid. Sure, she had just said she had _spoken_ with the bird and the bird _talked back_ but she was, again, Mother Nature. After a second he got to the birds side, looking back at her. "So... how do I get up?"  
"You jump, silly, just don't pull to hard on his feathers when you climb up." She seemed to be entertained by his confusion, giggling silently with a small hand over her mouth to try and hide it, he felt her shaking with laughter. He shook his head with a roll of his eyes, but still smiled. He felt carefree again being around her, she was so happy. If you only heard her and weren't looking at her, you wouldn't know in the slightest that she was in pain right now, covered from head to toe in bruises and cuts. Jack took a deep breath before jumping, grabbing hold onto honey brown feathers. The bird froze in place, feeling the tug, but with Ilia's presence, didn't try to throw the winter spirit off or panic as it's reflexes asked it to. He crawled up, being light as a feather, and to his advantage, Ilia was too, so it wasn't that difficult to make it to the back of the bird and sit around its neck. "Now hold on tight so you don't fly off!" she said, a little too happily. That was right.. if he flew off then the wind wouldn't catch him. But before he could ask for any tips of _how_ to exactly hold on tight when the bird's neck was just too large to wrap his arms around, Hiwa's winds started to flap. It was like the whole street was in a sudden tornado, tries bent over backwards and Jack could barely see a yorkie-terrier fly from one side of is yard to the other with a tiny "yip" of a bark. If anything, it was pretty fun, sending adrenaline through his chest and getting his heart pounding as he watched Jamie's house get smaller and smaller. Hiwa was like a helicopter, rising vertically up with powerful thrusts of huge wings before pausing. The winter spirit looked down. Even he hadn't flown this high before, the view was both brilliant and exhilarating as the bird started to move. "Woah!" he shouted with a laugh. It was nice to feel the cool air shove his hair from his face, the light push it gave to him and the exciting feeling of not having the solid ground at his feet. It made him feel like the wind was still with him.. wherever it had went. He missed the feeling already. Ilia laughed too, staying perfectly balanced on her own as the bird took off towards the distance at full speeds, being surprisingly balanced though moving as fast as a plane might. "Thanks for this, Ilia!" Jack shouted over the howl of the heavy air running past his ears and out of their path. "Don't thank me, thank Hiwa!" She yelled back, the most glorious smile Jack had probably ever seen detailed on her face. "He laughed and looked down at the bird. "Thank you, Hiwa." He felt a little silly saying it, talking to a huge bird, until the beast gave a loud caw and he could faintly hear in his head, "Not a problem."

Pitch stood in the air of the dark night, being supported by a plate of nightmare sand at his feet. He watched as the huge bird sailed off, laughs and calls coming from it being no other than the two happiest voices the nightmare king had ever heard, the snow boy and the fox child. It aggravated him so, the two voices he couldn't stand, the two smiles that glowed even though he had beaten the girl senseless less than a day before. Death was ordered to heal her, but her pain wasn't supposed to be gone! Her fear was to remain in the deep wounds. He had suffered regret and angst causing those marks, but now that they were there, he refused to believe they weren't going to come to a use. "Wind.." he whispered angrily. "Go now." He didn't feel the normal happiness at the thought of destroying those smiles, no, he was angry. And this time.. he would take it out on the both of them, knock out two birds with one stone.. and one giant bird to the ground.

Jack felt something he hadn't felt in a while graze across his skin. "Wind!" he shouted happily, looking around as if he saw it above and around him. He had missed it, not just because the wind helped him but because it gave him someone to talk to. He cooled it from its non-stop run with his cold, and it gave him a source of transportation to bring that cold to others, working together as the Man in the Moon had placed them with a thought for each other in hand. But something was off, and the wind wasn't calling happily. No, it was roaring, the force of it picking up intensely. Hiwa swerved and the winter spirit slid slightly to the side, reaching back behind him and pulling the surprised Ilia closer to his back. "Hold on as tight as you can! Something's off!" he shouted, relieved as he felt small arms wrap around him; he was afraid she wouldn't have heard, the scream of the outraged breeze blocking out almost any noise he could make. The bird quickly swooped down, trying to make its way from the gale, but the wind followed. Whats going on, wind..? Jack asked in the depths of his mind, his blue eyes starting to sting from the air attacking them. Suddenly, the direction of the wind pushed from the back and Hiwa did an unexpected nosedive, Ilia's hands slipping. She screamed and Jack's eyes widened, turning and grabbing her hand right before she flew off the tail end of the bird. He was having trouble staying on himself, but a more fearful notice hit him. The beast couldn't stop. Hiwa was descending at rapid speeds, spiraling as the forest they had almost cleared was coming up to forcefully greet them quicker than he could blink. "Wind! STOP!" He shouted in a panic. There was a pause, a tensed wait sounded only with the roars of the gales and the muffled yells they were giving out.. before there was a sudden jolt and everything went black.


	16. Chapter 16

Jack groaned involuntarily as his eyes slowly opened. His vision was blurred the messy white hair that fell in front of his eyes and his head pounded like a drum was forced through his ears, the ringing from the screeching winds still echoing in his head. The world spun, and with the blur, all the winter spirit could make out in his daze was the dark green and black of the forest's night. He hadn't reached this part of the world yet, the grass he was sprawled in was wet as if it had just rained but there was no snow, just a chill that he knew was there but couldn't feel. He was sore if anything. When he had tried to close his hand into a fist to see if he could move it, it felt like someone had gotten a dart and shoved it right up his bone through the rest of his arm in a wave. He couldn't even tell if Ilia had made it okay, he couldn't tell anything as his confused turquoise eyes lazed around to try and lose the blur in his vision... until they stopped at a smiling figure. All Jack could see was a smear of black on the canvas of the world, but he knew who it was. The only one who could possibly be smiling, the figure of darkness himself. He tried to growl at the man to go away but his mouth refused to obey him, his pale lips sticking together with the dryness of the wind taking their moisture away. Instead he glared, though it was more of a narrow of his eyes as he couldn't even manage to fully do that. Maybe his spine was broken.. he thought in a fear. Guardians cant die, and though they heal faster, if something that damaging had happened to him, a lot of the world wouldn't get winter for at least a year if not two or three for him to heal. There was a chuckle and the carefree voice of the nightmare king stung the already buzzing ears of the winter spirit. "Did you have a nice rest? I let you sleep for a while, look, its almost dawn." Jack's eyes tried to focus on the skies again. Sure enough, the pure blackness of night was tinted with a deep blue, just barely visible as he still couldn't see well enough to make out any other signs of day coming. Still, it angered him. Pitch said it like he was being nice of all things. He laughed at the darker look coming from the winter spirit. "Aw, it seems like your little tumble left the both of you completely speechless. Here I was thinking you would _enjoy _meeting the wind again. What a shame." Jack growled from the back of his throat, the only sound he could make. So Ilia was there.. he was unsure if she was okay or not, according to what he assumed from Pitch's words, she might've been out cold or just as dazed as he was. He wanted to burst up, grab his staff and rush to attack the evil man, both for beating Ilia like he had before and for mocking him while he was down.. but Jack couldn't move. "Don't worry Jack.. I'll let you go back to your guardian family soon enough. I just need you for.. oh.. maybe till March? Just a few months.." His voice grew into a sadistic coldness, " so that all of the children realize that the snow days and fun of winter won't come." Jack felt his eyes widen involuntarily. So Pitch was up to this again.. before he had fallen he had tried to knock out the belief in Tooth, Bunny, and Sandy. Now he was trying to take away the very few lights Jack had of his own. He tried to raise his head and the force of the drums in his mind slammed him back down with a yelp. Pitch laughed, shaking his head. "You just don't know when to give up! But you don't have to worry.. I'm bringing your new friend as well. Ilia has caused some trouble for me, recently, I'd rather her not be out in the world to do it again. She has quite an affect on one of my allies and it wouldn't be fitting if he left because of her. Its nice to have a stronghold against your followers, is it not?" Jack wanted to reply, to yell back, but his vision suddenly blurred again, eyes squeezing shut at the pain that shot through him. "But you don't seem to want to talk for now.. sleep well, Jack Frost." There was a cold, wicked laugh, and the spirit of winter felt something smooth run over his face like a blanket. Nightmare sand. He started to struggle, ignoring the pain, fighting to rise.. then with a last effort wasted, fell back, the soft damp grass acting as a pillow for his heavy head.

Pitch laughed with his glory. Finally, his efforts were for something! The two he wanted were in his grasps, helpless, without a chance of escape. He pulled his nightmare sand away and looked down at the small and smaller figures on the ground. Their faces were peaceful in their sleep.. he would change that soon, but for now he didn't want them squirming on the way back. The thought got him excited, Jack Frost, the one who had shoved him into his loneliness from his glory yet again, breaking at his own power. Revenge was sweet.. and since the boy was almost always missing for a while, the guardians would't come to search for them for at least another few days. He quickly called back the sand, letting it surround both them and him as they faded from the forest, the only sign they were there at all was the large bird, eyes closed as it laid, heavily breathing, in the dirt.

Ilia's eyes opened weakly and immediately realized something was wrong, the glow in them igniting from her sleepiness as she realized she was back in the dark chambers of the nightmare king's lair. She darted up, yelling and falling back. She had forgotten about her wounds but the crash must've opened them all up. She felt the warm trickle of blood down her chest from the sudden jerk to sitting, the crisp dried brownish flakes still on her skin from earlier. How did they get there...? "Hiwa.." she whispered shakily. Her friend had fallen from the sky, that was it. The wind had attacked them.. she quickly looked around her, making sure to keep herself laying down in safety form reopening the gashes again. Thick black bars were spaced inches from each other. A cage.. she shuddered at the thought. Cages along with other traps were evil in her eyes, you didn't have a chance to run, to hide, to get yourself to safety. Even if you weren't going to attack, they had you trapped with no escape. She had spent so much time running around and freeing the animals around the hunting grounds, her speed being so unmatched that she never got caught herself.. and yet here she was, trapped. She had understood their panic but now she really felt it. Pitch could do anything to her in here, move her, break her.. she remembered the screams that ran involuntarily out of her mouth when Pitch was beating her, his anger fueling her pain. She was afraid of him.. not angry, but definitely afraid. The man was too furious for his own good and it showed in his eyes, eyes the color of the full yellow moon, tainted with anger and a sadistic want for revenge. She finally earned the strength to crawl to the bars, peeking through. Beside her, another cage... "Jack.." she whispered. The white hair of the boy didn't so much as rustle. "Jack..!" she breathed out, slightly louder but trying to keep quiet. He gave a faint grunt, a groan, then went silent yet again. "Don't try to wake him up, dear child, he needs to recover from his fall." She jerked her head to face the voice, whimpering as the dagger of pain rushed up her neck. Pitch was right there, leaning down in front of her cage. Her eyes didn't anger him anymore, oh no, they fueled him. A fire that needed to be burned out, him being like a mass of water. He would kill the light in those eyes, both of their eyes. He didn't care anymore if they were children because they weren't, they were spirits no matter how they looked, they would ALWAYS appear to be children. He smiled, a soft smile that gleamed wickedness. "You look so frightened, Ilia, you really dont think I would hurt you do you?" He gave the laugh of a sadist, pulling himself back to standing. She backed to the side of the black cage as far away from Pitch as she could get. Something was wrong with him, he had never been this evil from all of the times she had found and watched him, she had been there when he was fighting Jack and the other guardians, he was never as cruel as this. Then something moved behind the figure of darkness.. two bright red eyes were fixed on her, the black clothes and blood colored ripped cape giving his identity away immediately. "Grey, help me!" She shouted, crawling back forward in desperation. She felt a choking feeling in the pit of her throat, her eyes heating and starting to run with wet tears. He was her friend.. he had always given a faint smile for her, they had always talked when they met, she had always been nice and he had always been kind back.. so why not now?! "Don't let him do this! Grey!"  
"Shut up, Ilia!" Her eyes widened as the usually ominous and quiet voice of the grim was raised, him standing from his seat on the floor and glaring over. It was so unlike him to lash out like that. His look was uncaring but his eyes showed sadness. The sound stopped from her mouth, leaving her sitting there in slight shock, staring back at the man. He looked away in a glare, his fists clenched at his sides. "We're enemies.." he growled out. "If the nightmare king so pleases to hit you then I wont do anything, if he asks me to kill you, then it is my job! You're too young to see it, too naive! So just.. shut up.." He turned away, closing his eyes and bowing his head as he heard the small choking noises of the child trying to hold back the outcry of her sadness. He was born to be on the side of the wrong, she was born to be on the side of the light and that was that. He couldn't help her without being a traitor to himself. No matter what they were before, no matter how much he cared about her like a younger sister, the only family he couldn't help but feel he had, she was an enemy now. But it still hurt him like all hell when she finally lost her control, sobbing quietly into her hands. Pitch even seemed shock at the yell from the master of silence, the look in his eyes then crinkling into a smirk. "So its settled..? I'm afraid you don't have much choice in the matter to stay or leave. Same for Jack." Pitch had taken Ilia as a last resort blackmail to persuade Death to stay if he decided to switch sides, but it was pretty apparent now that she didn't have a purpose anymore. She had realized this as well, pulling her knees to her chest and openly crying, hiding her face in her small palms. Pitch could kill her if he felt like it, he could use her against Jack if he decided to fight his way out, break her and beat her without a single worry now that the only one who ever cared enough to possibly fight for her was on his side. Grey.. don't leave us here.. her mind echoed repeatedly as Pitch turned, pacing off. She peeked between her fingers and met with blood red eyes, a look first of worry and sadness, then the cold wall he always put up, as Death turned and followed after his new leader.

**Sorry if it gets not as good near the end, sort of had a really frustrating break and lost the mood to write :/ hopefully its good enough, I'll probably update again tonight or tomorrow. **


	17. Chapter 17

Two Days Later

Bunnymund paced the hard wood floor, its boards gleaming with new shine. North had called him here alone, not Jack, not Tooth, not Sandy, just him. He hadn't seen the guardians for a while now, their last meeting was a month or two ago, but though he missed them, he was anxious. Something might be wrong, but if it was too big of a problem wouldn't all the others be there too? He sighed, falling back into one of the two plush chairs that curled around the warm fireplace. The heat was nice on his near frozen feet; though North worked to make sure that the inner area of the pole was warm for visitors and workers, it was still freezing in comparison to the happy springtime grasslands of the warren. After a few more minutes of his mindless thoughts, the door pushed open and the big burly man walked through, though his stance was as strong and happy as usual, his face didn't show it. He looked dead serious, his eyebrows whitened with permanent age furrowed together and his blue eyes were narrowed a little. Still he gave a faint smile as he saw his close friend. "Bunny! So nice of you to come!" He said, his outburst of a voice reaching pretty deep to the rabbit's sensitive ears. Still he grinned back, hopping to his feet again and bouncing to stand by the Russian. "I've missed you too, mate, what have you called me for?" North's smile faded at that and Bunnymund felt his slowly lowering too. Something was off. "I thought I should warn you, since as of now Tooth and Sandy are working," he started, motioning for the rabbit to be seated back into one of the chairs, pulling the other under him and plopping down, the legs of the woodwork giving a small creak under his weight. "Warn? Of what?" The guardian of hope plopped down in the other chair, leaning back and looking to the red coated man. North's eyes narrowed further. "Let me explain.. earlier I went to tell Jack about what I told you all about Pitch earning his powers and thoughts on it.. two days after, Jack came back saying he saw Ilia spying on him." Bunny's eyes got a slightly annoyed click in them. All of the guardians could admit to disliking Ilia, though they wouldn't say it. She had animals take the eggs from Bunny, rip up the presents North left, knock out teeth before they were ready, and scare children into nightmares. Sure she was cute in her own way.. but she caused too much trouble. "What would that little ankle biter be doing with Jack?" Bunny thought he knew the answer. North's thought was that Pitch was using lost spirits like Jack had once been to his advantage, manipulating their lonely minds and promising them a family in return for their loyalty, sparking up their hate in the guardians past just jealousy. Ilia was a spirit, just like them, and with her curiosity, would be easy to lure in. The santa claus saw the cogs turning in the easter bunny's mind and nodded as if he knew he had put two and two together. "Yes.. Jack went back to visit Jamie but he also was to look for her. It has been three days now with no reply from him." Bunnymund saw where North's worry was taking place now. Visiting a friend didn't take three days, and though Jack usually kept the ability to worry them senseless without trying up, he wouldn't go for this long without at least giving a sign he was alright. "I see what you mean, Mate, but do you really think Jack couldn't handle himself? Sure he's a rotten egg but.."  
"I am just worried. That is all. With Christmas coming soon I have no time to go in search of him."  
"So you want me to?" Bunny didn't mean to sound so aggravated, but the thought of having to chase the winter spirit down _again _struck a nerve. "No, not what I was going to say," North continued. "Jack can take care of himself. I was going to say to go find Ilia and bring her back here." Great, the bunny thought with a growl in his head. Even better. He had to go find the little mischief maker and drag her back to the pole? If he wasn't good with anything, it was kids, plus all the trouble she had caused over the various easters. North saw the look, and smiled. It was like the man could read minds, both creepy and warming at the same time in a way. "Do not worry, Bunny! When you first met Jack, you thought he was trouble maker too, no?"  
"I still do," the Australian accent drew out, the grey ears ducking slightly understanding what North meant. He chuckled. "I will meet you soon, Bunny. Thank you for help."  
"Oh not so fast." An abnormal voice cooed from by the door, a very familiar one.. Pitch. Bunny quickly stood, reaching for his boomerangs that rested on his back, glaring towards the dark grinning figure. North rose again, not reaching for his swords just yet but tensed, cautious. "Pitch.. what are you doing here?" He asked slowly. "I thought you were too weakened?"  
"He sure as hell was!" Bunnymund growled loudly. "What do you want, answer before I knock the words right out of your mouth!" Pitch had given him every reason to be angry, the trouble he had caused to the warren, the tooth palace, the attack on the minds of the sleeping children. His glare grew deeper, more intent, causing another chuckle to run off the pale lips of the tall thin man. "Oh no, I'm not here to threaten," The nightmare king mused out, walking from his place at the closed door to the side of the room to lean against the wall, crossing his black cloaked arms. "Just to ease you the trouble of trying to find your friends." Bunny did NOT get a good feeling from this, his paws shook just slightly. What did he mean, 'ease the trouble?' He wasn't that strong to take Jack down while in a weakened state... or was he even weakened anymore? He wasn't supposed to even have the power to leave his lair at this point, so how was he here? "You haven't seen the fox girl or your fellow guardian in some time simply because they're with me."  
"With.. you?" North finally felt this was a good enough reason to grip onto the hilts of the blades. "And what are they doing.. with you?"  
"Oh, don't worry, dear Claus, they didn't come voluntarily. I just need their company for a short while and thought it would be kind of me to ease your troubled minds when the boy never returns home." Pitch's voice ended in a soft chuckle and the easter bunny put one large furry foot forward, about to lunge at the man, only stopped by North's heavy hand on his shoulder. "Not now, Bunny.."  
"Yes, rabbit, listen to your leader," Pitch sounded amused at his fuming anger. The rabbit wanted to see that awful grin fade, his paws shaking with jerks in his rage. "I also have one of the others you pushed aside uncaringly with me now.. I wonder if he even sounds familiar to you anymore.. Grey Loss?" The two of them froze. Bunny remembered well from the very beginning of becoming a guardian, the tall dark figure, the blood red eyes, the deathly pale skin and the red cape. The appearance of Death.. he couldn't be working for Pitch. Could he..? The nightmare king smiled, he had hit the nail right on the head, leaving the two guardians speechless. "Yes, Grey Loss, the one who has lurked this unforgiving earth even longer than you and was still outcasted. The grim reaper.. Death. Now on my side. Why? Because I would accept him when you wouldnt." Pitch knew it wasn't true, Grey had joined not because he wanted the acceptance, his heart was too pure to fall to darkness. It was because the man thought he was born to be wrong, born to be in the shadows and he had chosen the side that he felt would turn out as it should. But the guardians didnt know that. North looked down. They couldn't just accept every spirit roaming around, there were too many. Usually when a spirit asked for help they would pass them up, ignore their pleads for families. They worked so hard to protect the hopes and smiles of children that they had forgotten about their own kind, even more lost and lonely, going through their pained immortal lives ignored and unwanted, unseen at all. Now North felt it, the guilt, the realization that they were too arrogant, not accepting younger spirits that were now having to rely on lies and darkness to feel like they had a purpose. Pitch smiled, turning away as seeing his work in the pole was done. "Try to take Jack back, Death will greet you. I don't have to worry about you trying to take Ilia though I'm sure. You never really cared about any lost spirit like her anyways.. which is why you're going to fall." He growled the last words out before vanishing in a cloud of shadows. "Damn it!" Bunny shouted, slamming his fist into the wall. North looked down, hating seeing his friend so upset but knowing it was for good reason. Ilia had always been a trouble maker, but the one time he had seen her she was so innocent seeming, green eyes glowing and a happy laugh running from her mouth as she played with the foxes in the forests in Texas. Now, both her, the mask of death himself, and the newest guardian, who seemed as a son to him, were in Pitch's grasps, whether they were forced to be or not. "Bunny.. I will call Tooth and Sandy. We will go to rescue them."  
"Didn't you hear?! If we go, we'll be dead before we can blink. Pitch has THE FUCKING REAPER on his side!" The rabbit was shouting in frustration and sadness and the big man could see it past the anger he seemed to announce. "...If Pitch is making army then we make our own. It is about time to stop ignoring spirits.. or we'll lose them to Pitch. If he gets enough of their help, fight is already lost."

Pitch smirked as he heard the upset guardians conversing, returning to his lair with glee. Oh how things were working out.. He felt his feet touch the solid ground of the dark room and his smile grew even wider at what he heard. He had been waiting for this, for one of the two young spirits to fall asleep. Death was watching the spirit of curiosity from a distance, red eyes cold and uncaring though alert as always. But her eyes were open wide, breathing was heavy, her small face facing the cage at her side. So it was Jack...

Pitch approached the left box of shadows and it fled, the bars that surrounded the guardian cracking and shattering into nightmare dust, leaving him on the floor. He was curled in on himself, arms wrapped tightly around his stomach. Pitch knew they both had a chest injury because he had put it on the both of them while they were unconscious. A slash on their fronts, a slash on their left ankles, and the two wouldn't be able to run or stand straight if they tried without scream worthy pain ricketing up them. It didn't seem as guilt inspiring to hurt them anymore. It was simply a way to keep them from getting away from his strong grasps, a master in charge of his pets. He liked that.. especially since one of the "pets" was an actual part animal. You were born to be in my control.. he amused himself thoughtfully as he approached the two figures. The girl's white fox ears ducked; they hadn't yet been cleaned of the blood that littered her. To his appreciation, she had her own arms curled around her stomach, a wince in her eyes. She couldn't sit up, laying on her side to watch what Pitch would do. But he turned to Jack with a smile. The boys eyes were closed tightly, small whimpers pushing involuntarily from his paler than normal mouth. "So the nightmares have begun," He laughed. Anyone who was to end up sleeping in his lair was in the pure essence of nightmares, there was no escape from them. Ilia felt herself slipping to sleep but barely holding on.. but Jack hadn't gotten any sleep since he had found her, having to run from the forest to Jamie's house, steer the bird, and the crash would've been exhausting in itself. Pitch laughed louder madly at his own joy. The winter spirits face was squinted with fear, sweat trickling down his brow. "Jack Frost.. do you feel so powerful still?!" He pushed on the blue hoodie with his foot, making sure to press on the open wound he had left on the two to turn the boy onto his sore back. Jack gave out a cry but didn't awaken. If he had known Ilia was watching, he would've held it in.. but in his sleep, he had no control. Pitch whiffed in the smell of fear that only he and his fearlings could usually detect, it was intoxicating. But not all of it was Jack's. The tall dark figure turned with his even darker grin towards the girl again, his pointed teeth glinting in the very faint flicker of light. She was shaking, watching Jack's own shivering form, her horribly bright eyes bursting with the cries she was too afraid to let out. He had protected her, he was in this place because he had tried to save her. Pitch knew this was running through her small blonde head, knowing the guilt would just add on to the path of her finally breaking to his command. He turned then to Grey Loss. The figure was leaning against a black wall, sitting on the floor watching the girl. He didn't seem to care in the slightest of her tears.. it was both good and a little disappointing. Pitch had longed to see what the fear of the reaper felt like, smelled like.. but he found it would be a bit more challenging. "So, Death, how do you feel? The only one who ever cared for you here crying and wounded, you don't seem to care much!" He grew in satisfaction as the black haired male's stone hard emotionless wall got a very tiny crack. He looked to Ilia and just a tiny bit of sadness leaked through the expression he had kept blank nearly the entire time he was there. Good.. Pitch thought. I guess I do have you in a small bind, don't I? If Death cared about the girl then keeping her would mean keeping him. If he tried to pull anything, Pitch could do whatever he liked with his only friend in return. Death would then be left to either killing her and losing the only one who ever liked him or he could leave her alive and have to watch her suffer endless hours of torture if it came to that. The nightmare king was no longer afraid of hurting anyone, like a new sense of blood lust was taking place in his mind. "I don't seem to care because I don't," he finally responded, closing his eyes and turning away, though Pitch was starting to sense a form of fear stronger than he ever had felt. He slowly smirked at the grim before marching back to Jack and kneeling down. The spirit had tears forming in the corners of his eyes, his fists closed so tightly his nails drew blood from his pale palms. Revenge was so sweet.. this boy had beaten Pitch down, stole his glory and rejected his offer to join him. And now he was suffering, getting back what he finally deserved. Pitch felt so amazing.. so in control. He had three spirits already that wouldn't dare to defy him once he was done with his horrors and it had barely been a week since he was so broken and powerless. He turned back to Ilia, her eyes getting a little wider as her glance turned from Jack and the horrid electric green eyes met Pitch's goldish silver ones.. and he smiled. "It's only just started, child.. have a good rest." The king of nightmares left the room, Death rising from his place on the ground as always and following him out like a guard. Ilia looked to Jack, his whines and whimpers digging through her ducked ears, her own tears forming at the sight of his. "Jack.. wake up.. don't let Pitch do this to you, wake up!" She reached through the black bars as the same nightmare sand formed the cage back around the white haired teen. Her fingertips were three feet from his shoulder. "Wake up..."


	18. Chapter 18

Ilia felt alone, weak, useless. She was sure it was nighttime, Pitch and Death had left the room to assumidly go sleep and Jack was unconscious, his small whimpers of both pain and fear echoing throughout the chambers, catching her sensitive ears. He had been so strong in her eyes, seeing this side of the snowboy was heartstabbing, plus the pain of Death's words.. he never did care.. how would he. He was the grim reaper, and though she could tell he had a good heart, it was pretty obvious he didn't care too much to be around others. Why was she any different? Now that she thought back to it, she had wished she ran when Pitch let her go. If he caught her and punished her, at least she would take that pain on her own. Jack was suffering like this trying to get her to safety.. she pulled up the pale green top she wore with her outfit, looking at the deep slash engraved from her upper hip to her lower shoulder. By the bloodstain she saw across the front of Jack's hoodie, he must've had the same cut. It hurt to breathe, to talk. Everytime she inhaled her lungs expanded, stretching the open wound to tear further, and everytime she exhaled, that tear pressed in against itself. Sitting up was out of the question, she was forced to stay in the slightly curved position on the ground, shaky bruised arms wrapped around the deep gash to try and stop the bloodflow. Her ankle bled on its own. Pitch had managed to both horribly sprain and cut into the bone, causing unbearable pain if she put any pressure on it at all. The cuts she had had before, the bruises, all of them were torn back open and darkened during Hiwa's crash.. she couldn't move, even the beating of her heart sent a throb throughout her. She doubted Pitch would allow the cages to be cleaned, the blood that specked the floor seeping into her already bloodstained clothes. Her eyes were drooping and she knew what was coming. _You have to sleep eventually.. It'll happen on its own soon enough. _But she was scared. The way Jack shouted, tossed and turned, whined and whimpered in his own restlessness, not being able to wake, not being able to pull himself from whatever horrors he was seeing was fear bounding on its own. She stared out at the black walls with a small whine of a sigh, wincing as her chest jolted with the force of the wound reaching down into it. "What's the matter, child, not tired?" That voice.. she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to pretend to sleep but he had already seen her, clicks of footsteps tapping their way towards her small weak form. "Or have I not done enough to you to make you want to lose your pain?" She glared warily up at him, her eyes being one of the few parts of her that didn't hurt. Pitch crouched in front of her cage. She wished the scene was reversed, that she was looking in on him finally being locked up. "Silly little dog.." He mused, reaching his hand through and rubbing her head, ruffling her messy hair even further. She growled very quickly and within half a second her fang-like teeth were dug deep into his hand. She wasn't some mutt, definitely not something Pitch could toy around with. It had always gotten her sensitive. Though she loved animals, she had never wanted to be one and hated to be addressed as one. The look in the nightmare kings face went from the overconfident smirk to a glare of rage as he raised his other hand and hit her hard across the cheek. The yelp was satisfying to him as the sudden outburst of pain blossomed on her delicate cheek, her teeth ripping from his hand as she slammed against the side of the cage, crying out as the deep wound in her ankle slammed with it. The man of darkness drew his hands from the bars, hissing at the small panting figure in the corner of her prison. With a short glance, he saw deep puncture wounds in both his palm and upper hand, his own blood running from their depths, sparking his infuriation even further with its red color. He rose to full standing and stormed to Jack, pulling him right through his cage as if it were butter and holding his limp figure towards her, a dagger of nightmare sand that looked sharp as steel in the bloody hand through her bloodshot eyes. "N.. no.."

Pitch glared down, his hand throbbing but his grip still tight as anything on the hilt of the pure black dagger. "Oh yes.. you've done enough. You should know from watching all your little puppies and kittens, stupid girl, bad behavior is only corrected through punishment." As his words ended, the shaky hand raised and the tip of the blade went to the winter spirit's pale cheek, the cold of the metal seeming to calm him slightly, the chill giving him something to cling to, a safety. "Now Ilia.. as you watch your protector get cut up by my blade.. make sure you keep it right inside your little blonde head that this was all your fault. If you hadn't been so stupid to have wandered in here in the first place, Jack wouldn't have to suffer," he slashed down, sending a jerk through the body of the spirit in his grip, turquoise eyes bursting open with the sudden pain to bring him back to reality. The sweat from his nightmares worked its way down into the fresh wound, causing him to give a light groan, the whimper he wanted to let escape his shaky lips was pulled back into his throat as he saw the watery and nearly glowing wide green eyes fixed on him, the right one being partially closed with the swell of a huge, bright red mark across it. He felt the cold gaze of those horridly sadistic eyes across his wincing expression. "Jack, you've finally woken up. How were your dreams?" The white haired teen couldn't tell what was worst, closing his eyes tightly. He was locked in his nightmares and terrors with no way to escape.. but now was just the same. Him and Ilia, locked up in this real nightmare. "Speaking of which.. I told your guardian friends where you were, but they wont be coming for you," Both of them seemed to light up then go confused and downcast at the same time. Wouldn't be coming for them..? Jack didn't understand. Sure he didn't like relying on others for situations he had gotten himself in, but the guardians were always there for him and vice versa. "I guess they didn't care as much as you thought after all," Pitch shrugged, dropping the form in his hands. Jack gave a shout as the corrupt leg twisted itself under him and he fell to his face, the gash in his chest causing him to shout again. He didn't want to look this weak in front of Ilia OR Pitch. The terror in the spirit of curiosity's eyes was heartbreaking, made him want to curl up and fall.. and then the anger, frustration of knowing that he was laying at his enemy's feet, crying in pain was shredding him mentally apart. But Pitch loved it, picking the boy up by his hood and tossing him back into the black barred cage, the door slamming shut again and the lock that held it together molding so the gate was gone. Jack looked up, but not at the nightmare king but at Ilia. She looked back to him, giving a small whine as she reached her hand out yet again to try and get to him. If he reached too, their hands might be able to meet , a last resort to give each other at least a small bit of safety and comfort. But just as Jack was about to reach back, a heavy boot slammed down on the small girl's hand, an outcry dashing out of her mouth as she was forced further to the ground. The boot wasn't Pitch's though.. but Grey's. From Pitch's angle it looked like he was glaring down at her, his boot twisting to make it seem like he was aiming to hurt her.. and he was. But as Jack looked closer he could faintly see not a look of anger on Death's face, but one of warning, blood red eyes flashing words that he couldn't speak. Ilia seemed to get it and he raised his foot, turning and leaning back against the wall with his head down, the uncaring look back. How did he do that..? Jack wondered. How could he put on such a mask as to make it seem like he didn't care what happened to her, watch his only friend get cut up and forced into pain and not seem to care until he had to. He had stomped on her wrist for her sake, that was obvious though. If she had kept resisting listening to Pitch, he probably would've just cut her hand right off. Still, the wicked man was fooled and satisfied with Grey Loss's seeming obedience. He then crouched by her cage again and something appeared back on her neck; the black collar of nightmare sand she had had before all of this. He then raised his still bleeding hand and put it atop her head, causing a shiver to run through her but no attack this time, as she cradled her throbbing fingers. His smirk returned and he patted her lightly on the head, brushing the dried blood off of the white fox's ears. They were surprisingly soft, real fur. He had never felt an animal, let alone a fox. They had always ran from him and he never had the bother to catch one until she had found her way accidentally into his lair. He felt even himself grow a little curious as he reached back and got a grip on the tail that curled itself naturally around her as she laid. It was soft beyond anything Pitch had ever touched, though the powdered blood made it a bit annoying. He smirked, forming a small idea. "You know.. I've always wanted a pet," he started and her eyes, which had been staring at the ground in a failed attempt to ignore him, darted up cautiously. Jack crawled as close as he could get to listen, despite Death's watchful eye on him. "You know I could give you a family.. make sure you never wander your way into a situation like this again. You know its true, Ilia, I can see people's fears. You're afraid that you'll never be wanted. I can change that." It was crazy how at one second he was darkly smiling and the other he seemed completely sane again, his eyes filled with understanding.. Jack looked to her, not expecting the longing that had suddenly appeared in her eyes. He remembered how desperate he was to belong as a spirit, now he was facing one that never got that wish. Death seemed to notice it too, getting a nervous glance as he blinked over to the darkest of dark and the lightest of lights face to face in a near agreement. "No.." he whispered out, just as Ilia said it. She looked sad at the thought of giving up the first and possibly last opportunity at a family, a home. Was it because she didn't want to let Jack down, knowing that he was listening? Or because she truly disagreed with Pitch? The winter spirit was sure it was the first. But Pitch's smile didn't fade. If anything it got bigger. "Good then," the man laughed with unknown joy. Her cage fell apart, molding into a chain that wrapped itself around the collar that had locked around her small neck. She looked panicked, confused, trying to back away but being held in place by the strong hand that gripped the other side of the black metal links. Jack's eyes narrowed in anger as more fearlings ran out of the walls, causing her to whine quietly in fear of them coming to attack. Instead though, they stopped, flattening around her. A dog crate. It was made for a large dog, slightly bigger than the tight cage that was there before, but the holes in the sides werent near big enough for Jack to fit his fingers through. The thing that was off... the fearlings constructed a REAL dog crate. Nothing made of the black sand as usual, but actual hard plastic and the same metal crossed gate. "I.. I said no!" She shouted, earning an overly kindhearted smile from Pitch. "And you dont have much of a choice, girl." He was mad, Jack was sure of it now. This wasn't Pitch, Pitch wasn't this insane. Even if he WAS a wrongdoer, he had been respectful, not cherishing in blood and laughing at the pained expressions the two gave. No.. he was a madman, crazed with an overdose of anger. Pitch turned, walking out of the room but either not noticing or not caring that Death didn't follow. His red torn cape fluttered as he walked around and crouched in front of the crate Ilia sat helplessly in. "By tomorrow morning you will be out.." he muttered, his voice barely audible to Jack but his lips moving just enough to make out the words. "I will carry you and the spirit of winter back to the Pole where your guardian friends will take care of you. I'll deal with Pitch later.." He looked to Jack, clarifying. "I am not on your side, I'm still born to be in the darkness and I will stay in my place. But you... you both.. aren't meant to be here. He turned back to Ilia, giving a soft smile that surprised Jack into thinking it was fake. Such a cold man giving such a warm, calming smile.. Ilia put two of her fingers through the crate's gate and the man reached up. One of his fingers was the size of two of hers, him putting it in her reach and her small hand halfheartedly curled around it. It was both sweet and sad.. like Jack was just there, watching as the two seemed to converse mentally, their eyes flickering with different emotions, most of which Jack didn't even know Death had. Then the man rose, nodded to the both of them, and turned. "Ilia.. you realize why I said what I did, dont you?" She stayed quiet, looking down. "If I hadn't, Pitch would've hurt you to get to me. I had to." Nature nodded slowly but the saddened look stayed in place as the tall figure of the reaper turned and walked in his full confidence and grace out of the room.

**The chapter is sort of sucky, I'm not exactly awake right now . I'll try to update more since I dont think I'll be able to for a few days. **


	19. Chapter 19

**Went back through this chapter and fixed all the spelling and grammatical mistakes I could find. Sorry for the inconvenience, I used to write right before I went to sleep, so was pretty out of it.**

A small girl walked along a grey sidewalk, leaves dusted over the surface crunching quietly under her torn, worn-down tennis shoes. She had her head bowed, but green eyes stayed focused on the people around her, blonde messy hair fluttering in front of her face with the wind's cool rush. It was the coldest of autumn days and though goosebumps were rising over her small frame, there was no coat to give her pale skin warmth.

The girl was so much smaller than the other kids, mostly because she didn't go to school and only saw the kids that were older than her at the park she waited in. She would keep waiting forever if she had to... "Hey look.."

"Iris again? What does she want here?"

"Where's her mother..? Ive seen the kid here till past midnight." The girl named 'Iris' pretended to not notice the stares, eyes tearing. She couldnt tell if it was because of the cold wind or the feeling of loneliness that carved a pit through her center. She felt so empty.. Her body almost naturally numbed the cold at this point. It never snowed in her area but it did get cold enough to freeze over, leaving her tears being the only source of warmth as the skies darkened and the chill worsened... but still, she wouldnt stop waiting. It was another freezing night, another lonely, heart shreading, saddening night. She felt like she could burst, even wishing sometimes that she would. She only looked up when she saw the blackness of a figure in the already near black skies. "Hello..?" she whispered, the bench she sat on seeming to be more uncomfortable as she remembered what her mother had said about strangers.. but this one was.. well, stranger than a stranger. His outfit was black completely except for a red ripped cape that fluttered in the wind's angry breath. He was paler than even her and his black hair was longer than she had been used to seeing on a man; a little past his shoulders in smooth, raven strands. He seemed a little surprised when she looked directly at him but that faded.. and the man stared back with blood red eyes. It was unnerving. "You.. can see me?" he asked, his voice so cold, so dead, it scared her a little. Despite that, he had a questioning tone to it, almost surprised himself. Her words wouldnt come out, frozen both with anxiety and the chill sticking her dry lips together, so she just nodded. He was quiet for a while before, of all things, he seated himself beside her. She had the instinct to move away, if a strange man sits next to you while you're in the darkness of a now empty park, you leave.. but he seemed sad.. just like her. Her head tilted slightly. "Whats wrong?" He glanced back with a small grunt towards the child, her eyes filled with curiosity and light, things he never understood.. but also with something else. Somethinf hidden that he had felt and known for so long he could detect it immidiatally. Sadness. Loneliness. Fear. "I should ask you the same question.." he muttered. Death didnt really understand why he had chosen to sit here next to some child. Usually if anything he stayed away from mortals, going to them only to bring them to their destined afterlife then go to back to his lost, lonely exsistance. He got to see both the beautiful heaven and the firey horrible hell.. and knew full well he would never reach either of them. He had ruined too much to go to heaven and he was too pure for hell.. there was no place for Death in either of the worlds. The small child brushed her hair a little out of her face, pale green eyes seeming to sparkle with the gloss of holding back tears. "Waiting for my momma.." she said quietly, looking down at her feet swinging; she wasnt tall enough yet to touch the ground. Death sensed the tinge of shakiness in her voice, glancing over as red eyes scanned her down. She wore no coat in the freezing weather, holes littered her shoes and dirt stains and rips scattered the surface of the the oversized button-down white top. She wore a blue skirt that was wrinkled, dirty, and tattered, and her hair had small bits of broken leaves and dirt in it. She looked homeless, lost. Alone. "How long have you been waiting?" he questioned. She was quiet for a longer period of time than the reaper expected. "Half a year.. she left on my birthday, told me to wait with Daddy." Half a year.. "And you've been waiting all this time?"

"Wouldnt you?" It was a surprising question from someone so small but her words were true. If someone he cared about left, he would wait forever to have them return. But he didnt care about anyone.. and no one cared back. "And where's your father?" This time, she didnt answer. Grey felt bad. If her mother left and never came back.. he faintly remembered carrying a woman with the same features as this child from a smashed car up to the heavens. That must be why she can see me, he thought. He had to consider, she couldnt keep waiting here in the cold alone forever. "Your mother.. she's in heaven... you shouldnt keep waiting, she wont come." The girl's bright eyes darted up, wide and confused. "H.. how would you know?"

"Because I brought her there.. I'm Death. The Grim Reaper." The girl didnt seem nearly as freightened or upset as he had expected. If anything, she appeared to be relieved. She had thought her mother had left her.. sure it saddened her to know that she aould never see her again, but she was happy if she was in heaven. "Is that your real name?" Grey was taken by surprise again. "No... my name is Grey Loss."

"I'm Iris Windgrove," she said quietly. Time passed with no further words before Death stood again. "You need to go, it's not safe here at night and I dont want to take you as well. Go home." The girl gained a scared look out of nowhere, making him wonder, but not have enough time or will to ask befoer she gave a tiny wave. "Thank you.." she whispered. As she turned to drag herself wearily home, she saw the figure of the man that didnt seem quite so bad anymore bow his head, before he was gone, faded into the darkness of the shadows.

Death walked along the same street two months later, both pleased and a little saddened that the girl from before, Iris, wasnt there. He missed her strangely but refused to let himself get attatched... or to think he was. Humans lived and died and that was that. Making friends with one would just be sure to hurt him when he had to carry them from their lives. But down the street he heard yells, yells of anger. He wondered who would be screaming so late.. Werent people sleeping? Death's internal clock told him it was around one in the morning. His dark footsteps approached and he immidiatally recognized noises.. very familiar noises. A small weak cry, a scream of an angry man, slams. Quickly, he ran right through the thick wall, eyes widening slightly at the scene before him.

An older man was yelling, his face red with rage as he shook a small girl by the arms, jerking her frail body back and forth without control. He hit her, a small whimper escaping her lips. Her blonde hair was rustled even further than it was the day Grey had last seen it, green eyes glowing with fear.. "D.. daddy let go.. You're hurting me, please stop," she whispered, her voice making it seem like she was trying to be calming, reassuring. This must have happened before. Despite that though, her words only caused the man's rage to uproar again. "Your mother isnt going to fucking come, how many times have I told you to get the hell home!"  
"Daddy, please..!"  
Death simply stood and watched as the girl he met before, Iris, was beaten to the ground by a heavy hand. Reality at its finest.. the unfairness of life right before him. You have to stop this, a voice whispered. I cant, he thought back, bowing his head. Iris then saw him and there was a pause before her small head was suddenly slammed against the ground. It was too hard this time, her skull cracked and her beautiful eyes closed like shades to a window immidiatally, blood as red as his cape rushing out into her light hair, one last cry igniting through the night before it was all pure silence... Grey could only watch. He couldnt kill anyone without it being their time but he wanted so badly to run his scythe through the wicked man who was just beginning to realize what he had done. Within five minutes the alert bell rang in the spirit of reality's head.. he walked as if a timer had rang towards the figure on the floor, just a corpse of a lost girl now as the wound had done its damage and her eyes were sealed shut for eternity. The only human that had ever made some sort of impact on him.. dead within a few months. Was The Man in the Moon punishing him? Warning him not to draw too close to humans? Was it his own misfortune that brought this girl down? He brought her into his arms, looking down with grievingly guilty eyes. She looked at peace.. like all the other spirits... but somehow a little more so. Death's feet left the ground and his head bowed as they vanished together...

reappearing in a foresty clearing. He was confused. Usually depending on the person, he would be at the gates of heaven or hell. This only happened if.. his eyes lightened for the first and possibly last time with surprise and actual joy. If he was here... then the Man in the Moon had chosen her to be a spirit. It was both horrible and amazing at the same time. She wouldnt experience the amazing heavens, but his selfish mind brought him joy thaf he wouldnt lose his.. he felt himself truely mean the word for the first time. Friend. She meant so much to him, just the light that was in her eyes, the lack of fear towards him, her curiosity. So he even housed a small weak smile as he walked the girl's body to a small pool of water, the spirit pool. The moon's light beamed down on it. The pool changed per spirit in location, just needing to be a body of water that got enough moonlight. As Grey's hands slowly released her and he stood back to watch. It was always amazing when a spirit was born, even more so since he felt kindly towards this one in peticular. She shimmered a faint silver, floating unnaturally in the clean water, the blood fading and crack in her head healing as if it were never there. Her blonde hair grew a little lighter, being now like sunshine instead of the sandy look it had before. Her pale skin gleamed, making her look less sick and more along the lines of angelic, changed completely from the dirty, frostbitten color it had become when she was alive. The dirt had literally faded right off of her, her outfit changing itself into something more peaceful, naturelike but suiting her in a way MIM knew how to do with really everyone. Death's own outfit was chosen by the leader of the guardians, and to this day he hadnt changed it... he assumed she would be the same. As a final, her feet seemed to shrink slightly and shift so they were half human, half paws. Her ears shifted as well, growing and moving to the top of her head, pointing more as fur as white as pure snow blossoming on them. A tail came from her back, a fox. A pure white fox.. then her eyes opened. They were bright, bright beyond the brighten before by far, glowing, shining with innocence and life he couldnt believe, leaving the reaper in awe just as the water receded and the small girl was pushed by a gentel wave to his feet again. He was surprised, crouching down as she slowly sat up* "What.. whats going on..?" He remembered his confusion when he was born as a spirit.. Not knowing your name, what you're there for or anything, your past life completely forgotten. He was about to adress her by her real name but stopped at the last minute. The man in the moon always slightly altered the spirits names, Like how Death's name before (he found) was Gale Locket, changed to Grey Loss. He liked Grey better anyways and MIM knew it. But now he understood, her naming was left to him. He thought for a second before smiling as much as he could, his natural sadness fading just slightly as he looked down on her like a baby, a child who knew nothing of the world... a little sister, a form of family he always secretly longed for. "Ilia is your name. Ilia Windgrove." Ilia was a word in a language that had long died and been forgotten, a word that always struck him as special even past the thousands of years since he had heard it. It meant "Girl of Happiness." Now, it meant his new and only friend. Over the months, MIM requested that Death left her side eventually and he did, feeling guilty for putting her in the cruel world on her own. She was his only carer and the only one he truely cared for. The only weakness of Death was Life.

Grey Loss' bright red eyes flickered open. How had fe fallen asleep..? Though rest always felt nice, a break from the despair he faced daily with no end, he never NEEDED sleep and he never slept if he didnt decide to. He groaned quietly, reclosing his weary eyes and blowing his black bangs from his face. He has passed out right against the wall of the throne room in Pitch's lair, where he always went after he was pulled away from Ilia and Jack. But as his sleep-blurred eyes caught their view, they widened slightly in the first sign of actual emotion he had shown in years, decades even, since Ilia's birth as a spirit, since what he had just dreamed. His hands were locked behind his back, the tightness of the black metal holding them in place was wince worthy. He tried to rush to standing and fell back, his feet were cuffed as well along with a black collar he felt resting on his neck, one like Ilia's. He was chained to the wall, held down with not one but three restraints. What was going on...? But then he looked in front of him. Pitch Black stood fully awake with a smile of evil. Pitch could see dreams, Grey remembered, feeling a jolt in his gut. "So the reaper does have a weakness after all," Pitch cooed. This had all been a set up, "Nightmare King.." Grey muttered, putting on a confused face. "Oh dont pull that," Pitch spat, pacin in front of the downed dark spirit's bright red glare. "You should know I never trusted you, I just needed you to fo along so I could put enough nightmare sand into you to finally get you to sleep. You're too powerful for my tastes of a follower, it takes too much energy controlling you." Pitch then slowly smiled, turninf to face the grim's wary look. "Or it did.. but now I know for sure.. your hope, your comfort and only real happiness all relies on that child. You were good at hiding it, Reaper, but with this new information you are as weak and in my control as my own fearlings." He was right.. Grey would put himself to torture if he had to to get the bright innocence of the nature child to safety. His only joy.. His head bowed, eyes closing in a form of defeat, Pitch laughed and Grey flinched as a fast hard fist connected with his cheek. His head shot to the side before slowly raising back up, a pant running from the parted lips of spirit of reality. Pitch was pleased, risinf again. You are mine, Grey Loss, your freedom and your power, the only gifts the man in the moon gave you that couldnt be taken away, are now crushed beneith my feet." He knew it to be true.. "Bring the girl in.. and Jack in around an hour. Lets see how they react to their powerful warrior when they see him beaten and begging for mercy!" A wicked laugh echoed through the lair. Pitch had done another thing, whether he knew it or not. While Death couldnt die or get hurt.. there was an exception. He would never die, but so long as his scythe wasnt near him, he lost his ability to instantly heal, its power restoring him, the flesh it had torn forming as his own. But he couldnt feel it nearby, Pitch had taken it.. the night grew slightly darker as the head of Death fell back to his chest, not yet defeated but definatally without hope.


End file.
